


Freckles and Mischief

by Lilas12



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fix It for Avengers Infinity Wars, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Loki is a prat, M/M, Pop Culture, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Romance, Roommates, Slow Build, Thor: Ragnarok (2017) NO post-credit scene, Tony has a daugther
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-02-15 03:09:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 43,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilas12/pseuds/Lilas12
Summary: When the Asgardian ship lands on Earth after Ragnarok, Thor needs help to hide Loki from Tony Stark. And his first idea is to ask Zacharie, Iron Man secret daughter. Loki and Zach are forced to become roommates, for better or for worse…





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Post Thor Ragnarok, no post-credit scene (they never come across Thanos ship and make it to Earth without issues). Slightly AU for the character of Zach (and her relationship with the Avengers) but I’ll try to stay canon compliant as much as possible.
> 
> This story is mostly a romance, but peppered with a little bit of adventure and humor. Being a little geek at heart, there will be a lot of pop culture references but it’s not essential to understand all of them to keep up with the intrigue. 
> 
> This story is pretty planned in my head and nearly finished, but I’m always open to suggestions if it can help solidify everything you find lacking. It’s not my first OFC but please, if you find some behavior too Mary Sue, tell me. I want to make Zach as believable and true as she can be. I will try to post a new chapter every two or three weeks, but if I finish this story earlier than expected, it may come sooner.
> 
> As a final note, English is not my first language (I’m French), so if you find any grammatical inaccuracy, tell me so I can correct them. And please, be indulgent, I’m sometimes not as bilingual as I wish to be (especially when it comes to the sequence of tense that I find hard enough in French). 
> 
> I hope you’ll like this story and wish you a very happy reading! (Comments would be highly appreciated ^^)
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr : http://lilasdixon.tumblr.com/

**Prologue**

                Good morning everyone, I’m Zacharie ( _yes, with an “ie”, meaning I’m a girl. Awkward, right?)_ I don’t really know how to introduce myself or to start this story to be honest. I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s kind of crazy… But you see, I’ve to put this down on paper (or on screen, more accurately) because I need people to know about it. I can’t keep this to myself anymore, it’s like… eating me up. So, here I am in front of my laptop, trying to gather my thoughts and memories to tell you all about the most amazing and incredible this that have ever happened to me. And when you’ll learn who I am, you’ll understand that my definition of “amazing” and “incredible” is pretty different from the rest of the world. Because my life and my world are pretty unbelievable to begin with.

Sorry, I babble. That’s one of the main thing you need to know about me. My dad always tells me that I suffer from verbal diarrhea ( _meaning, I always says the first thing that pop into my mind without meaning to, without filter_ ). Most of the time, it’s pretty embarrassing. And some other time, it’s just downright mortifying. But I’ve learnt to live with it and I’m kind of okay about it now.

Anyway, I’m digressing. So, here we go, so hold on thigh guys and get ready, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

My name is Zacharie Stark, and this is my story.

As you all probably have gathered from my pretty famous ( _or infamous, I’ll let you be the judge of that_ ) last name, my father is Tony Stark. I already hear you say “Liar! We all know that Tony Stark doesn’t have a daughter!” But, sorry to disappoint, it’s true. You see, when you are Iron Man and fight bad guys all day long, you don’t announce to the world that you have a secret child. I would have been a pretty easy target for them to use against him, am I wrong? So sorry to say that if you have never heard of me, it’s probably because my dad doesn’t trust you enough. Only a few people know who I really am. In his defense, Dad has only learnt about my existence 13 years ago.

My mom ( _who was crazy enough to give me a boy’s name, thanks mummy!)_ and Tony had a torrid and incredibly brief affair in the late 90s. And 9 months later, here I was. Mom, who had traveled the world most of her life to teach foreign people sciency stuff that nobody except her ever understood, never told him about me before she found out that she had breast cancer. I was twelve at the time. She died a few months later and Tony being the only family I had left, he took me in.

Even then, he didn’t tell a lot of people about me. For seven years, only Happy, James Rhodes and Pepper knew I ever existed. And my nanny Jarvis, before he passed away. You see, at the beginning, Tony wasn’t the warm and cuddly kind of father. He still is not, but now I can honestly say that he’s the best father is the world. But back in the days, he was never there. I think I honestly only saw him five times in my first year living in his outrageously big house. Pepper tried to make me believe that he send me gifts and postcards from all over the world, but I knew that she was the one to buy them. I was happy to pretend for a time, but then, I couldn’t bury my head in the sand anymore.

I think fate kinda went my way after my 13th birthday, because for the first time in my life ( _but not the last_ ), Tony Stark surprisingly begun to act like my father when I needed him the most.

You see, me being the offspring of a brilliant astrophysicist and Tony Stark, I’m kind of a genius. Not to be presumptuous or anything, but it would have been pretty insulting if I had been otherwise. So, obviously, I hated school. I was the nerd, the weirdo and my teachers thought I was a dunce because I never listened in class and spent my time sketching things they couldn’t even begin to understand. Nanny Jarvis and Pepper tried to help me socialize, they even threw me a big birthday party for my 13th birthday and invited my entire class. It was on this atrocious day, twelve years ago, that my life begun to have meaning again and that Tony and I learned what it meant to be a family.

Sorry for the digression… again, but it seems important that you learn to know me a little bit better before I throw myself in the main reason I’m writing this story. So, please, bear with me.


	2. Begin Again

**Chapter One: Begin Again**

When Nanny Jarvis woke me up on this sunny morning of April, I already was in a bad mood. The day before, Billy Clifford had stolen my sandwich at lunch and broken my glasses when I had punched him in the nose as a retribution. I had tried to fix them with some tape, but the result was far from appealing. Now I looked even more like a nerd than I normally did. Which was difficult to say the least. I had frizzy dark hairs, dull brown eyes and bloody freckles. The ugliest and biggest pair of glasses always perched on my nose, I rather spend my days reading a book than talking to people (which I still do… sometimes. Yep, still a nerd to the core, guys.) Anyway, I ate breakfast like a good little girl, but couldn’t help but feel a furious amount of dread when I saw the way Pepper and Jarvis smiled at me. They looked like a couple of mischievous teenager and I feared the worst.

“How’s the birthday girl?” Asked Pepper with a freakishly _superhappy_ grin.

_Oh boy_ … I thought. _What is she planning now?_

Pepper had only been working for Tony Stark for a few years at the time, but she already was highly skillful and the only one able to deal with my father’s shenanigans on a daily basis. I still don’t know how she can do it. That woman is a marvel of nature. No wonder he fell in love with her… Anyway, let’s go back to the story at hand.

Pepper had always been more of a mother to me than my own biological one ever was, but sometimes, she tried too much. She always meant good, but on this particular occasion, she had totally misread me.

“I’m fine, Pep”, I answered, munching on my toast.

“It’s such a beautiful day. What do you say we go out to the park today?” Offered Jarvis, grinning like a madman.

_I don’t like this smile._ But I still agreed, because it was Sunday and I didn’t want to disappoint him. He seemed so… hopeful.

Jarvis was so old I didn’t know how he could still work for Tony. Surely, he should have been retired by now, but he loved my father like a son and would work for him until the day he died…

So, still unaware of the disaster that would come, I went to the park with Jarvis and Pepper. We chatted gently about everything and nothing until we entered the cluster of trees that hid the biggest picnic I had ever seen. There were food and drinks and balloons and games everywhere. There even was a magician. And people… With wide eyes and a gaping mouth, I watched the twentyish people stare at me and stand up to scream “Happy Birthday Zach!”

It was a catastrophe.

I could see all of my classmates cheering with false joy and felt empty. Why were they here? Most of them had never even talk to me. And… Billy Clifford was here, sniggering at me. It was wrong. It was mortifying. None of them were my friends. To be blunt, I had no friends apart from the two adults standing beside me and smiling at me with so much affection. It broke my heart. I knew all of these people were only here because Pepper and Jarvis had invited them and promised sweets and fun. None of them were here for me and come Monday, they would still bully me or downright ignore my very existence.

So, with what felt like lead in my stomach, I burst into tears and ran. Ran. Ran.

I was so upset I didn’t even hear Jarvis and Pepper call my name and when I stopped, I was lost. And alone. I didn’t recognize the name of the streets around me and suddenly I was scared shitless. Tears still streaming down my face, I realized how stupid and selfish I had been. Pepper and Jarvis must have been freaking out. They had only tried to please me with this surprise party and I had reward their effort with such contempt… I was so ashamed…

I tried to retrace my steps but couldn’t find my way back to the park. I walked for hours until I finally went into a shop and asked the owner to call my house. It was a nice of man who gave me a chocolate candy while I was waiting for Pepper or Jarvis to pick me up. I didn’t realize at the time how fortunate I had been not to come across any trouble. I could have been kidnapped, or worse.

I was astonished when the person who walked in turned out to be Tony Stark. He was pretty much a stranger to me at the time so I froze when he stopped in front of me with a glare. Stunned and scared, convinced that I was about to receive the scolding of my life, I could only look at him with a trembling lip and watering eyes. He seemed so impressive, tall and dark with anger. He stared at me for what felt like ages before kneeling until we were face to face. Then, without a word, his face softened and he gently picked my glasses from my nose. They were dirty with traced of tears. Slowly, he cleaned them with the hem of his shirt and gave them back to me.

“Sorry”, I said while putting them back on.

“Come on kiddo, let’s get out of here”, he simply answered before ushering me out of the door.

The ride home was silent but I could see him glancing at me from the corner of my eyes. When we walked in, Pepper and Jarvis were on me the second the door closed behind us. I immediately saw that they had been scared to death, Pepper’s eyes still red from shed tears. They didn’t even scold me, too happy to see I was alright. I apologize to them and cried again while Tony stood behind me in silence. Then, he put a hand on my shoulder and asked me to follow him.

Still unsure and anxious about this man I barely knew, I stayed silent until I realized he was leading me to the basement. It was uncharted territory for me, because the lower ground of the house had always been off limit. I knew it was where Tony’s workshop was and that I was forbid to ever set foot in it. I had tried to go there once and even managed to override the security codes that opened the door; but Jarvis had caught me red handed before I even passed the threshold and made me promise never to try again.

“Where are we going?”  I knew the answer, but I wanted to be sure.

Tony gave me a cryptic smile over his shoulder.

“To my secret room”.

I couldn’t help but feeling eager. I had always wanted to see what was hidden there. When we stopped in front of the workshop door, Tony entered the code and placed his hand on a black panel on the wall. He must had seen my raised eyebrows because he said:

“After Jarvis told me you managed to get in, I decided to update my security a little bit.”

The panel scanned his fingerprints and a robotic woman voice announced: “Good afternoon Tony.”

Then, the door opened. When I stepped into the workshop, it was like I fell into the rabbit hole and woke up in Wonderland. They were robots, and machines, and computers and amazing technology everywhere. I had to catch my breath. Already, my brain kicked in and started to analyze everything around me. I only realized I was gaping like a fish out of his bowl when Tony burst into laughing.

“You’re gawked, kiddo.”

I blushed, but couldn’t hide my wonderment. I didn’t even care that I acted like the queen of the nerd. It was just amazing.

“This is so cool!” I creaked.

“I thought you would like it”, he said.

That gave me pause. Frowning, I asked: “How could you know that? You don’t know me…”

Tony watched me for a few seconds before shrugging and offering to give me a tour. For the next hour or so, I acted like a child on her first visit to Disneyworld. I asked so many questions that my mouth was dry. We talked more in an hour than we had since we had met. Finally, I understood why everyone was so awestruck when they heard the name Tony Stark. He was a genius. And I was beginning to feel a little mesmerized myself. Before this day, when people would talk about my father and everything he had done, I had barely believed them. For me, he was a selfish playboy who would rather spend his days abroad with faceless women then with his own flesh and blood. So, in my opinion, it was impossible that such a man could actually build anything with his own hands. And boy, I was really happy to see how wrong I had been.

We were sitting next to each other talking about engineering nonsense when Tony finally said:

“You’re wrong you know, when you say I don’t know you.”

I glanced at him and saw he seemed dead serious. I just shrugged.

“Zach”, he called. Finally, I dared to look him in the eyes (they looked exactly like mine) and was struck by the warmth I could see in them. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant this past year but you have to understand how difficult this is for me. I’m still a child myself on so many level… How could I ever begin to raise one?”

I knew that. Pepper and Jarvis constantly complained about the fact that Tony was so immature…

“But when Pepper called me today to tell me you had run away, I was… I was freaking scared! You have to promise me you’ll never do anything so foolish again, Zach. I’m the foolish one in the family, the part is already taken so you’ll have to be smarter than your old man.”

I just nodded, still pretty ashamed.

“On the other hand, I promise I’ll be more present.”

My heart skipped a beat upon hearing this and a boiling hope raised in my chest.

We stayed silent for a moment before Tony pointed at my taped glasses and asked: “Who did this to you?”

I turned away from his penetrating gaze but he gently took my chin between his fingers and forced me to look at him.

“I’ve always told Jarvis that you were far too smart to go to this stupid school.”

“You think I’m smart?” I asked, a little too hopeful. But I didn’t care how eager I sounded. I had my dad’s attention. He was here and seemed interested about my life. Even my own mother had never acknowledge that maybe the fact that I hated school didn’t necessarily mean I was stupid. Maybe I was everything but…

“Pepper send me some of your sketches last month and they are brilliant. Far too advanced of a 12 year old”, explained Tony.

“13”, I mumbled.

“What?”

“It’s my birthday today, so I’m 13 now, not 12”.

Tony seemed dumbstruck for a moment before abruptly standing up. He disappeared behind a heap of metallic parts and wires before coming back with a red and golden robot in his hands. He handed it to me with a sheepish smile.

“Happy Birthday, kiddo”.

I didn’t know what to do or say, so I just took it. I was so pleased I couldn’t stop the beaming smile that spread on my face.

“It’s just a prototype but I thought you would like it. You can even work on it if you want”, offered Tony.

“Thank you… dad”, I dared. It felt strange, saying this word, but in a good way.

Tony seemed as surprised as me because his eyes widen, but only for a second, before he was back to his smiling self. It was a little awkward after that, but when he sat again next to me, my father… dad… gave me the most wonderful birthday present ever when he said: “I’ll be there for you, Zach, I promise.”

I smiled. And he kept his promise.

                The week after that, I transferred into an institute for advance children. There, I met people like me, nerds and made some friends. I loved school. When I went home for the weekends, Tony was almost always there and when he wasn’t, he called. He send me daily emails when I was at the institute and even came to see one of the school play I was in. I loved my father.

When I was 15, my dad became Iron Man. The same year, I started college. At 18, I had two PhDs and came to work for Stark Industries. At 25, I met the love of my life…

______________________________________

_Things will really be starting in the next chapter._

_So, did you like it ?_

_^^_


	3. Avengers

**Chapter Two: Avengers**

                Living with a superhero wasn’t easy every day. But living with a bunch of them was even more challenging. My dad became even more protective of me, insisting that I left my flat in DC to come live with him in the Avengers Tower when they assembled. I loved living in New York, it was big and exciting and I felt useful. I helped save the world. I worked in close proximity with my dad on so many projects I had barely any free time. But I was happy. Still innocent, still his little girl in so many ways, still so young. I thrived by his side and felt like I had found my place in the world. But I was still his dirty little secret and grew tired of living in his shadow.

I had to beg Dad before he agreed to introduce me to the famous Avengers. I had already met Steve Rogers once when Tony revealed to Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye and Thor that the little brunette with glasses that followed him around like a lost puppy wasn’t some crazed assistant but his daughter. I already knew Natasha, but we never were fond of each other. She always told my dad that I was a brat and a liability and that instead of keeping me around, he should have send me away or something. She said it was for my own protection, but I didn’t buy it.

In a nutshell, Black Widow and I were far from friends.

But I immediately got along with the guys. I loved chatting with Bruce about sciency stuff and he was a pretty cool guy when he didn’t turn green. Thor was a laugh and even if I was seeing him less than the others, we could talk about everything and nothing for hours. I was very fond of his stories from Asgard and I tried to teach him some earth stuff in exchange. Clint is a great guy too, but we only saw each other in passing and never developed a true friendship. But my favorite Avengers (apart from my dad of course), was Steve. We became fast friends and spent a lot of our free time together at Stark Tower and later, in the new Avengers Facility. He introduced me to Sam and we soon became a very tight trio. Now that he had disappeared with his boyfriend (sorry, his best friend Bucky Barnes), I missed him and Sam so much it hurts. Dad never knew that, but we stayed in contact. But a call once in a while will never replace the bond we once shared.  

I could never forget the day Steve and I met, even if I’m still a little embarrassed about how ridiculous I must have looked…

                It was five years ago and back then, I was still living in DC. Dad and I were supposed to have lunch together and I usually met him at Stark Industries, but that day, he had had an appointment with Nick Fury. So, here I was, roaming through the corridors of the SHIELD facility, and I was completely lost. Taking out my phone, I dialed my Dad’s number, not really paying attention to where I was going.

“Where are you, baby?” Immediately answered Tony Stark’s booming voice.

“That’s the problem, Dad. I don’t know. Hill said to take a right, then two left and another right… I think. But I guess I must have missed a step because I have no idea where I am”, I admitted, looking around me.

Tony laughed on the other side of the line and I rolled my eyes. “Why doesn’t that surprise me… Don’t move, kiddo. I’m coming to you.”

I was just about to tell him to hurry up, because I was starving, when I bumped into something hard and unyielding. Being an awful klutz, I tripped over myself and fell back. I would probably have broken my butt if a big and strong arm hadn’t caught me around the waist, interrupting my fall. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the thing I had just bumped into wasn’t a wall but a very tall and very muscular men. He had sandy blond hairs, baby blue eyes and a chiseled face that was far too handsome to be real. He honestly looked like a Disney prince… on steroid.

“Whoa, you’re huge”, I blurted, still quite dumbstruck.

The man frowned and stepped back, watching me as if I had just bumped my head.

“Sorry, that was rude. Sometimes, my mouth utters words without my own consent… ”

I knew I was blushing like a schoolgirl. But he really was impressive. I had the feeling I had seen him before, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. My embarrassment seemed to have mollified him because he gave me a blinding smile, revealing perfect white teeth.

_Was this guy for real?_

“Don’t worry, being awkward was kind of my specialty when I was your age” Holding out one of his broad and tanned hand, he added: “I’m Steve.”

And then I knew where I had seen him before. He was Steve Rogers, the famous Captain America. I had found pictures of him in my grandfather’s old stuffs. I had also heard about his sudden reappearance after 70 years buried under tons of ice. He was even more striking in person. And he was kind, his smile probably able to melt the entire North Pole.

A little awed by his blinding charms, I shook his hands. “Zacharie”.

“Isn’t that a boy’s name?” Asked Steve with a lifted eyebrow.

“Yes, but my mom didn’t get the memo”.

He let out a little laugh and I was suddenly very proud of myself. Most people found me funny, but not in the right way. They laughed at me, not with of me… I felt my whole body warm up. It was immediate and definitive. I liked this guy.

“Do you work for SHIELD?” Steve asked, his face open and curious. I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t immediately assumed that I was just a random youngster.

“No, I’m working for Stark Industries. I’m actually here to meet someone who should be here soon”. I knew my Dad was using one of his many apps to pinpoint my phone. He was probably on his way.

“Strange place for a meeting”, Steve pointed out with a crooked smile.

“I… I got lost”, I admitted with another blush.

Steve snorted and I couldn’t help but laugh as well and soon enough, we were chuckling like two idiots. He was the first one to calm down.

“Thank you for this, Zacharie, I felt like I hadn’t laugh in years… which is true, I guess”, Steve admitted with a lingering sadness. I could understand. Waking up 70 years in the future where everyone you knew must be dead really sucked…

“Anytime, Steve.”

He gave me another smile.

“I’m sorry but I’ve to go. I’m already late”, he apologized. “Will you be alright?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. I usually can survive on my own, you know? When there aren’t confusing corridors which all look the same involved. ”

“I hope to meet you again, Zacharie”. He seemed sincere and that made my chest flutter a little.

“My friends call me Zach”. I didn’t know why I said that because I didn’t really have any friends, but it seemed fitting, concerning Steve.

“Zach”, he nodded.

“See you later, Cap’”. I gave him a military salute that earned me another blinding smile. He didn’t seem surprised I had recognized him.

He disappeared at the end of the corridor and a few seconds later, my Dad appeared, leading me out of the building while chatting about everything and nothing. I was pretty distracted at lunch, thinking about my meeting with the iconic Captain America. I really hoped I would see him again.

Fate seemed to be on my side once again, because a few weeks later, Loki, Thor’s brother, attacked Earth and after that, my Dad introduced me to the Avengers. And, for the first time in my life, I had actual friends, who knew who I really was.

                All in all, living with the Avengers was like having very protective big brothers and an even worse father. It was mostly great because I knew that I was loved and safe but sometimes, it was unbearable. I had been pretty safe when Loki had attacked earth because I had lived in DC at the time, but after the shitstrom with Ultron, my life became much more difficult. See, I was in the building when the crazy robot had nearly destroyed the Avengers Tower and I got hurt pretty bad. I still have some scars on my back and my arms, the everlasting traces of the shattered glass that had pierced my skin. After that, we all moved to the new Avengers Facility outside of New York and I had the feeling that each of my moves were being monitored. Once, I had the upmost stupid idea to go on a date with one on my colleague only to find Steve, Sam and my father cornering him just as he was about to kiss me at the end of the night. After that, I had to use the most farfetched subterfuge when I wanted to date someone.

Not that it happened a lot. My love life was pretty much nonexistent now that I was living with a cohort of superheroes who treated me like a baby duckling.

When the new Avengers came along for the ride, I was already part of the family so they welcomed me with open arms. I still feel strange around Vision, because he looks too much like Jarvis and can be pretty intrusive. I remember when he walk right through my door one morning and gave me the fright of the century. Dad and Steve had laughed so much I thought they would crack a rib. I was relieved when I met Wanda because she was my age and pretty awesome. We quickly became close.

But, when the rift between Dad and Steve burst open, I lost all of my best friends in the process. No more Steve, no more Sam, no more Wanda. So, to be honest, the last year sucked butt. I was so mad at my dad for driving them away, but at the same time, I understood. Bucky, even if he had been mind-controlled at the time, had killed my grandparents. So, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I lost myself in my work at the compound. My days all looked alike but I was content, at least, that’s what I thought.

I was 25 in 2017, when my life was turned upside down once again and all because of one person. My dad would say: “You should never have come back to Earth” and at first, I thought like him.

I was so wrong…

                When you work with superheroes, you say to yourself that nothing can surprise you anymore. But as a scientist, you are taught to always anticipate the unexpected. But I never could have imagine that a bloody spaceship would one day land on the lawn in front of the Avengers Facility. I knew that alien existed, (thank you Thor), but to hear about it or watch it on TV and actually see it with your own eyes is quite different. I should have known that something strange was doom to happen that day when I received a strange email on my personal computer. I had just woken up from a dreamless sleep and was drinking a glass of OJ when I heard a little dig coming from my laptop.

Being the boss’ daughter had some advantages. I had my own private flat in the facility with a state of the art kitchen, a dining room big enough to host a symposium and two huge bedrooms with a shared bathroom that could make every decent human being’s eyes sparkle.

Coming to sit in front of my laptop with a bowl of sugary cereals I’ve loved since I was a kid, I opened my emails and nearly choked on my mouthful. It was from Thor. I didn’t knew that he had an email account or that he even understood how to use a computer. And, wasn’t he supposed to be back on Asgard? Last time I had spoken to him, it was months ago, when he had come to say goodbye, nearly breaking my ribs with one of his bear hug. He had told me about strange dreams he had been having about the destruction of his world and I had wished him the best of luck in his quest.

Was he back on Earth?

More than a little surprised, I read his email with widening eyes.

                _“Hello munchkin,_

_I don’t really know how to use this blasted device or if you will even receive this epistle but it’s worth a try. I need your help with something and would ask you to keep it between us. In other words, don’t tell your Dad. I will be arriving on Earth shortly and would ask if you could help me smuggle someone into the facility without anyone noticing. I can’t tell you more in case this message would be intercepted._

_I hope you are well and will tell you more soon._

_Thor, God of Thunder.”_

_WFT??!!_

I had to read the email several time to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I was really happy to hear that he was coming back. Now that Steve and Co were gone, I had been pretty lonely these past few months. Not friendless, because my colleague were pretty amicable, but it was nothing like what I shared with the Avengers. They were like family, I could tell them anything.

I smiled at the nickname he had always used for me and stood abruptly when I looked at the time. I was late.

_Crap…_

                The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful, but while I was walking toward the cafeteria, a loud hovering sound suddenly echoed through the hall. It came from the outside. Used to be on high alert since the attack of Ultron, I turned around and ran, punching the red alert button on the wall. But already, dozens of heavily armed soldiers were hurrying toward the deafening noise. Dad was right behind them. When he saw me, his first instinct was to take my hand.

“What’s going on?” I asked, slightly panicked.

But he smiled, so I relaxed immediately.

“Come kiddo, I think you’ll want to see this.” Dad ushered me toward the front door and we stopped on the lawn surrounding the compound, swarming with armed soldiers. Here, the sound was thunderous, but I barely registered it when I saw what was causing it.

A spaceship. A real, flashy, blue, huge spaceship was hovering above the ground.

I gaped like a fool as it slowly landed on the grass. It was as big as two houses. When the engine roar stopped, the sudden silence was unnerving. We all waited until a door on the side opened, revealing a smiling Thor and a grumpy looking, full green, Hulk. I only registered that Dad was still holding my hand when he let it go to move toward them.

“Hello Point Break, Veggie Banner”, greeted Tony with a boisterous smile.

I had to roll my eyes at that. _Typical Dad…_

Nearly all of the Facility employees were outside now, beaming at the astonishing sight of a real spaceship on their lawn.

“Stark”, simply said Thor, before waving at me.

I only realized now that he had short hair and that it really suited him. And that he was wearing an eye patch. Did he… Did he lost an eye? OMG, I really needed to talk to him!

_At least, Dad could stop calling him Point Break now… But he would probably switch to Snake…_

“Welcome back, guys”, said Tony. He was about to come nearer when Hulk pointed one huge finger at him and talked.

“Science Bro”.

I burst into laughing at the same time as Thor when Tony stayed dumbstruck, gaping a Hulk. But the scene was interrupted when dozens and dozens of haggard looking people appeared behind the duo. They were wearing medieval clothes and seemed frightened.

 _Asgardiens…_ I realized.

Dad came to the same conclusion, seeing how he frowned and look at Thor in disbelief.

“I’ve got a lot to tell you, my friend, but first, would you allow your base to become a sanctuary for my fellow people?” Asked Thor with a darkened face.

I felt frozen, as if something hard and unyielding had wrapped around my chest. I had a very bad feeling about this. Was there… Were they all that remained of Asgard?

Tony nodded and gave order to the soldiers to accompany the newcomers inside the building. There was only a few hundreds of them. The facility’s employees slowly returned inside, and when I was sure they were all gone, I moved toward Thor and Hulk. Only a dark skinned man with heavy dreadlocks and unnerving golden eyes and a beautiful black woman wearing a white armor remained, until the God of Thunder asked them to follow the rest of the Asgardians. The woman watched me with distrusting eyes when I literally jumped into Thor’s outstretch arms. But I didn’t care. My friend was back and judging by the way he held me, he needed that hug.

“Munchkin”, he whispered into my hairs.

“Let’s go back inside, we’ll talk”, said my Dad with an unusually serious face.

Thor let me go but kept one of his heavy hands on my shoulder. He then turned to Hulk, who had watch our exchange with a frown. He seemed… milder, more human than the beast I remembered.

“Tony is a friend, you remember, right? Go with him, I’ll join you shortly.” Hulk nodded and went to stand next to my father. “Tony, I need to talk to Zach for a moment, would you please take Hulk? He won’t hurt you”.

My dad agreed, but not without staring at us with a suspicious look. It was kind of funny to see him and Hulk walk in the Avenger Facility, talking (or more like grunting on Hulk’ side) like this was the most natural thing in the world. Finally, when they had disappeared, Thor faced me with pleading eyes, both of his hands now squashing my shoulders.

 _Whoa, I had forgotten how tall and strong he was_. With my little 5.2 feet, I felt like a bloody dwarf.

“Thor… did you lose your eye? What the hell is happening?” I dared ask, lifting my hand to gently graze the redden and blistered skin around his metal patch. It kind of looked good on him.

He took my hand and held it between his huge fingers reassuringly.

“We’ll talk about it later. There is more pressing matter. Have you received my epistle?” he said urgently.

“It’s called an email, you know? But, whatever. Yes, I did. But why the secrecy? You know that you can trust my dad, right?” I frowned.

“Not with this. Come with me”.

Nodding, I followed him inside the spaceship until we stopped in front of what seemed like living quarters.  

“Wait”, I said, putting a hand on his arm to stop him from opening the door. He stared at me with his remaining blue eye, his gaze as intense as ever. “Is it dangerous?”

A small smile full of tenderness brightened his expression when he took my face between his big hands.

“I would never do anything that could harm you, munchkin.”

I blushed against my better judgment.

“I’m nearly 26, you know. I’m not a child anymore,” I mumbled.

“For me, you’ll always be a munchkin.”

His smile pushed all my fears away and I nudged him as hard as I could on the arm. He didn’t even budge.

_Freaking Asgardians…_

“Whatever…” I mumbled.

Then, Thor opened the door, revealing a tall and slender man with long dark hair and the greenest eyes I had ever seen.

_Oh crap…_

Even if I had never met him before, I knew who he was.

Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think?  
> They will actually meet in the next chapter.
> 
> See you in to weeks ^^


	4. Asgardians

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,
> 
> Here is a new chapter, I hope you'll like it.  
> At last, Zach and Loki actually meet.
> 
> Tell me what you think ! ^^
> 
> Happy reading!

**Chapter Three: Asgardians**

                I stayed stunned for I don’t know how long, staring at the Asgardian in front of me. I had seen footages of him when he had tried to invade Earth with the help of the Chiroris, but they really didn’t do him justice. In person, Loki was… enthralling. All tall and dark and handsome.

 _Wasn’t Thor supposed to be the hot one in the family?_ That was just unfair to the rest of the universe.

I could never have imagined being so awestruck by the mere presence of someone before. I didn’t consider myself to be shallow, swooning and giggling like a fool in front of every cute guy that crossed my path wasn’t exactly my style. I had been living with the freaking Avengers for years for Godsake! I was used to see incredible beauty on an everyday basic… I should have been able to at least scold my expression.

But no. I was gaping at the poor guy like a moronic teenager.

I must have looked like a lunatic because Loki watched me with widening eyes before actually snorting, trying to hide his smile behind a long and pale hand.

_Oh God… it was even worst when he was smiling…_

At least, the fact that he had downright laughed at my face startled me enough to wake me up. I gave myself a mental slap and averted my eyes. I knew I was blushing and it pissed me off. To get a little bit of my self-esteem back, I turn to Thor and asked:

“Wasn’t he supposed to be dead?”

The blond Asgardian didn’t seem fazed by my ogling his brother. “That’s a long story, for another time. That’s why I need your help, actually. Could you get Loki inside the building and keep him safe, at least for the night, without being seen?”

“Whoa, hold your horses! You want me to sneak a notorious villain inside the Avengers Facility? Right under the nose of Iron freaking Man? You’ve got to be joking!” I replied with wild hand gestures.

I could be really effusive when I was nervous. And everything, from the gorgeous green eyed Asgardian, to the very thought of lying to my father made me incredibly nervous. If only Loki would be kind enough to stop watching me like if I was some weird experiment, I would be able _to calm the hell down_. But I could sense his stare burning the side of my probably red face.

“Munchkin, please”.

 _Oh no… Not the pleading face. No Thor, it’s not fair. Dammnit_ … How could anyone refuse anything to those baby blue eyes? (Eye, to be exact, but the fact he only had one left didn’t alter its effectiveness in the slightest!)

“Fine, but only for the night”, I agreed. _God, I was sooo weak!_

When we both turned to face Loki, he was watching us with raised eyebrows. “Are you serious, brother? You wish me to put my faith in this simple… child?” He scorned with evident contempt. 

_Child?_

A burning anger rose inside my chest. If I hated something, it was when people mocked my youthful features. And I didn’t look like a child _, thank you very much!_ Yes, I was tiny and still had those bloody freckles and big glasses but I exhibited others… attributes, which proved that I _definitely_ was not a child!

“Whoa, you are rude”, I said, crossing my arms on my pretty ample chest as if to prove my point. But my anger only made him smile mockingly.

_Okay, he was hot, but what a prat!_

“Loki”, interrupted Thor with his mighty voice. “I trust Zacharie with my life. You’ll go with her and behave. Please. I’ll join you as soon as possible.”

Loki seemed as weak as me when it came its brother pleading face, because he lost a little bit of his luster and sighed: “Fine”.

We still exchanged an annoyed stare before turning back to Thor.

“We need to hide him. Is there any place you can think of?” Asked the God of Thunder.  

Yes, I could think of a few, like one of the holding cells, for example. Or a broom closet. But I stayed silent while thinking about another alternative.

“There are plenty of unused living quarters, but they will be pretty full now that your people are here. Nobody else has a spare room, except for me of course, but…”

“That would be perfect, Zach! You would be able to watch him for the night”, interrupted Thor. His face was bright, like if he had just had the best idea ever.

“No way!” I shout out as Loki yelled: “I’m not staying with her! I don’t need a chaperon!”

We shared another murderous glare and I was about to tell him to shove it somewhere highly inappropriate when Thor once again pulled the rug from under our feet.

“It will only be for one night and I will be there as well. I just need to talk with your father before, Zach. I promise.”

My eyes widen in horror. Did Thor just gave away my biggest secret to a very notorious villain? He only realized what he had done when Loki asked incredulously: “She is Stark’s _daughter_?”

“Well done, Thor”.

He tried to apologize, but the harm was done. I suddenly felt very tired. And it was only midday…

_Those Asgardians would be the death of me, I swear._

“Come with me, you silly aliens. I know a way. But stay quiet.”

I turned around, knowing they were following me when I heard Loki whispered: “Did she just insult us?” Thor must have punched him or something because the next thing I heard was a little yelp of pain from Loki. I couldn’t help but smile. _Serves him right…_

They were lucky I knew the place like the back of my hand. There was a private entrance to my flat devoid of any security cameras. We had to sneak around the building and watch out for guard’s patrols but we managed to get into my home without being seen. When Loki walked in, he watched the surrounding with a frown, his eyes going from the ample kitchen to the huge living room as if it was the dirtiest dump he had ever seen.

_Prat…_

“It’s measly, but it will do”, he finally decided, facing me.

“Well, thank you, you highness”, I answered sarcastically.

Thor left after that, promising he would be back shortly. When the door closed behind him, the atmosphere became highly uneasy. I couldn’t believe that Loki, freaking God of Mischief, was standing in my living room in all his armored glory. We avoided each other’s eyes until I couldn’t stand the tension anymore. Letting out a sigh I didn’t realized I had been holding, I gave him an awkward smile.

“Maybe you would like a change of clothes? You mustn’t be really comfortable in your armor.” It was all heavy metal and leather.

He only winked at me before giving a swirl of his wrist. I expected something to happen, but no. He seemed as surprised as me.

“Why can’t I used my powers?” He asked, fury burning in his eyes.

 _Right, the power inhibitor_ , I remembered.

“Tony and I created a device that prevent enhanced people or Inhumans from using their abilities inside the facility. We had some… unpredictable issues over the years and decided that for the safety of all, no powers were allowed once you passed the doors.”

Everyone still remembered when Wanda had lost control of her power during a training and nearly destroyed the whole basement. Now, apart from the training area, buried under 30 feet of concrete, the entire facility was protected by PIs (power inhibitors).

“That’s ridiculous! I won’t tolerate it!”

“You can still walk out of the door for all I care, but you would be disappointing you bother once more”.

I must have struck a nerve because Loki stopped fussing and sighed haughtily.

“Would you be kind enough as to show me my temporary living quarters?”

Being polite to me seemed to physically pain him, but I complied nonetheless. If he was making an effort to be cordial, I could do it to.

I showed him around the kitchen and the living room, holding back a laugh each time Loki stopped in front of an electrical appliance, like the fridge, the coffee maker, the TV, my laptop, and glared at it as if they had offended him in some way. I tried to explain to him their use and found that while we were talking, the uneasy tension between us lessen. He complained about the crudeness of such barbaric devices, but despite that, he listened to me and asked many questions I never thought I would one day have to answer.

But how do you explain to a Nordic alien God how to use a coffee maker or what was coffee, or the function of a TV?

Yep, that gave a pretty funny and awkward conversation where I tripped over my tongue more time than not and often made a fool of myself. I had the awful feeling that my cheeks would stay red for the rest of my miserable life. Loki must have thought that I was a sorry excuse for a human being… But he said nothing offensive toward be, turning his disdain toward objects he didn’t understand the meaning to.

“You humans must really lead uneventful life to devote so much of your time to this… crude way of entertainment”, he lashed out against the TV.

Right, maybe showing him a bit of “ _Keeping Up with the Kardashians_ ” wasn’t the best of ideas. But then, I explained to him what Netflix was and he seemed to become a bit more lenient.

At last, I showed him the unused bedroom next to mine and had to fight back the wave of nostalgia that hit me when I opened the door. It used to be Steve’s room. I hadn’t set foot in here for nearly a year now. I knew there were still some of his clothes in the closet and some of his stuff scattered everywhere, but I had never been able to convince myself to put them away. I still had the crazy hope that he would be back one day…

“Stark, are you unwell?”

Loki abnormally gentle voice woke me up from the cloud of painful memories that clung to my brain. Turning my head towards him, I lied: “I’m fine. Sorry. This is your room, I guess. And please, call me Zacharie. Stark is my Dad…”

He watched me with his too green eyes, his expression unreadable, before stepping into the room. Watching him here was wrong on so many levels I nearly choked. I had to get out of here.

“There are clothes in the closet and the bathroom is just thought that door. Suit yourself.”

Without another glance, I closed the door and want back to the living room as fast as I could. Not for the first time, I took my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts on instinct. I was about to press the call button when I stopped myself. I stared at the profile picture of Steve and me making stupid faces at the camera and felt a sob climbing up my throat. If he had been there, he would have known what to do.

I was lost and overwhelmed and for the first time since I had seen Thor an hour ago, I realized how crazy it all was. I had agree to welcome a notorious murderer, an enemy of the Avengers, into my home and now I was alone with him. Even if Loki couldn’t use his powers, he was still deadly. I knew I could trust Thor with my life, but his love for his brother had always been his greatest weakness. He had a blind spot when Loki was concerned. What if he decided to betray Thor once again? What if…

Fear clawing its way up my stomach, my fingers wrapped around the iron wristband I wore. Dad had given it to me for my protection after Ultron. When activated, it was a replica of Iron Man’s glowing hand, projecting powerful blasts of energy at will. It reminded me that I wasn’t defenseless. And I knew how to fight, Steve and Sam having taught me hand to hand combat. But against an Asgardian as powerful as Loki, I wouldn’t stand a chance. If he really wanted to hurt me, he could blast me into outerspace with a simple flick of his fingers.

 _But he hadn’t_ , I forced myself to remember.

We had spent nearly an hour alone and he hadn’t shown any sign of hostility. He had made abundantly clear that he wasn’t happy to be here, but he had been strangely… cordial to me. Not really friendly, but amiable enough. Maybe I was getting a little freaked out for nothing. Maybe he had changed for the better, as Thor had always hoped he would. Trying the keep my cool as much as I could, I gave a last glance at my phone and suddenly saw the time.

 _Crap. I was late… again_.

I had to get back to work but I couldn’t let Loki wandering all alone in my home.

“FRIDAY?” I called.

“Yes Miss Zacharie?” Answered the robotic feminine voice.

“Could you send an email to Dad and Agent Hill telling them I’m not feeling well and will stay home for the rest of the day?”

“Do you require medicines?”

“No, FRIDAY, thank you.”

When my stomach let out a rumble, I realized I was starving. Would Loki be hungry as well? If he was anything like Thor, he would empty all the content of my fridge in a single meal. Glancing at the closed bedroom door, I decided to be a good host and at least make him sandwiches.

A few minutes later, Loki stepped in the kitchen and I nearly spit out the water I had been drinking. He was only wearing a towel, loosely tied around his narrow hips. The rest of him was gloriously naked and wet. His black hair were hanging in soft curls around his face and his smooth, pale skin glistened. Despite my better judgment, I watched as a single drop of water fell from one of his dark strand to his clavicle, continuing its fall down his finely muscled chest to disappear into his belly button. I had just drank a glass of icy water, but I suddenly felt very hot and my mouth was parched.

Turning away, red as a beetroot, I yelled: “What the fuck? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

I heard him let out a little chuckle but I would rather stab myself in the eye then turn back.

“I was just wondering if you possessed any other clothes than the ones in the closet. They are… not fitting.” There was a trace of humor in his voice I found downright insulting.

“No, but I’m sure they’ll do for just one day”, I answered, closing my eyes to pinch the sides of my nose. I heard his footsteps move away and I waited until he had closed the bedroom door to turn around.

 _Asgardians…_ I thought, rolling my eyes. _They had no decency!_

I touched my cheeks and as I had feared, they were burning up.

_Yep, another icy glass of water was definitely in order…_

When Loki came back, he was dressed ( _thank God almighty!_ ) in one of Steve old tee-shirt and a pair of black pants that were hanging low on his hips. It was really disturbing, seeing him in such casual clothes. He still oozed haughtiness and power but looked more approachable. I smiled at him while he sat at the kitchen counter, in front of a plate filled with two huge sandwiches.

“Is that for me?” he asked, pointing at the food with a condescending raised eyebrow.

“Yes, I figured you would be hungry.”

He stared at me without moving, scanning my face, probably trying to read my mind or something, checking if he could trust me.

“I didn’t poison it, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Eat, I’m sure you’ll like it. My cooking skills are not legendary but I can make kick ass sandwiches.”

Still silent and without breaking eye contact, Loki took the first one (ham and cheese) and sniffed it. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his attitude.

“You really are a distrusting fellow”.

“I don’t know you”, he finally said with a wolfish smile.

Finally, Loki took a bite and I couldn’t help but grin in triumph when his eyes widen in appreciative surprise.

“Told ya!” I said before taking my own sandwich.

We ate in a relatively easy silence. He was still staring with his too intense eyes, as if to assess me or something. It was unnerving. It made me nervous and, when I was nervous, I had the tendency of talking nonsense. This time, sadly, made no exception.

“So”, I started after I finished my food. “Loki, why aren’t you dead?”

He nearly chocked on his mouthful.

“Are you always this blunt with strangers?”

“Yep!”

His eyes narrowed.

“Come on! Thor will tell me everything anyway, but I would like to hear the story from you.”

“My brother does trust you, I know that. He would never have asked you to chaperon me if he didn’t. But I don’t.” Loki said, leaning forward to pin me with a dark glare.

“I don’t trust you either. You’ve tried to kill my friends and my dad on too many occasions. But it doesn’t prevent me from being civil. Come on, I’ll make you another one of my fabulous sandwiches”, I tried.

No answers. Angry eyes.  _Okay…_

To give me something to do instead of being glared at, I stood up and started to put the ham and cheese back in the fridge.

“I didn’t know that Stark had a progeny”.

I turned back to Loki, surprised by the sudden change of topic. He was still watching me, his long fingers tapping of the counter between us.

“It’s not really public knowledge. And giving that you are a villain, don’t be surprised you didn’t receive the memo.”

“A villain? Am I really considered as such in your world?” He asked.

“You did try to rule the world and destroyed half of New York, so… pretty much, yeah.”

He frowned and a flicker of something akin to discomfort flashed in his eyes. But it was gone before I even blinked.

“What is it like to be the secret daughter of Iron Man?” He inquired.

Why was he so curious about little, insignificant me all of the sudden? Was he trying to play nice? Or just to pass the time before Thor’s return?

Anyway, I huffed, sitting back in front of him: “You are interested about my life now? That’s rich coming for the guy who just refused to answer my questions.”

Loki gave me another one of his wolfish smile. “Trust can only be gained with time and shared experience. Humor me.”

It was my turn to assess him with narrowing eyes. I was just about to answer when my front door opened, and Thor walked in. He frowned, scanning the room until he noticed us and smiled.

“I have great news!” He announced, taking the seat next to Loki. “I’ve talked with Tony and he agreed to give refuge to our people for the time being.”

While he talked, I went back to the fridge and took out the biggest sandwich I had ever made. When I gave it to Thor with a tender smile, Loki glared.

_Yep dude, you have to be nice to deserve the honor to taste this masterpiece._

I only shrugged at him and gave Thor my complete attention. He took a bite of food, hummed in delight and added: “We’ll try to find a more definitive place to accommodate them, but we are probably going to have to stay here for a few more weeks. Maybe months.”

“Months?” Loki and I said at the same time.

We shared an angry glance before I muttered: “I can’t keep him hidden in here for months, Thor. My dad will surely find out and… I don’t need another roommate, thank you very much!”

 _And certainly not a gorgeous and untrustworthy God of Mischief!_ I managed not to say it out load, which was a miracle. But the problem remained the same.

“I know you miss Steve, but we don’t have a choice. Loki is wanted on Earth and I can’t leave my people. I’m their King now. I realize it’s a lot to ask, but staying with you is the best thing for him. You’ll teach him how to live here, and my room isn’t too far from here…”

“Can’t you take him?” I pleaded.

“I’m right here, you know. And I can take care of myself”, complained Loki.

“No!” Retorted Thor with a booming voice that made both of us go dead silent. “Please, at least for a few days, let’s try this. That will give me time to find a more permanent solution.”

And with a pleading baby blue eye, Thor had us cornered.

“I’m sure you’ll get along. You’ll be great roommates”, he stated with a beaming smile, wolfing the rest of his meal in two huge bites.

_Well, I’m not so sure about that…_

 


	5. Pizza and TV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! I'm back with a new chapter where Loki and Zach learn to know each other a little more. 
> 
> Hope you'll like it and remember to tell me what you think!
> 
> Happy reading! ^^

**Chapter Four: Pizza and TV**

                For most of the afternoon, we stayed in my flat and Thor told me everything that had happen to him since I last saw him. Loki remained mainly silent, watching our interaction like a hawk. When I took Thor’s hand when he related the death of their father and the destruction of his hammer, Loki’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I’m so sorry”, I simply said, giving my friend what I hoped to be a reassuring smile.

I was shit at comforting people but it seemed to be enough when he smiled back, a sad shadow clouding his clear eye. “For both of you”, I added, turning my gaze toward Loki. He was surprised by that, judging by his widening eyes. His back straightened on the couch where we had been sitting for a while now and he simply nod. He probably was trying to hide it, but the death of Odin had saddened him as much as Thor. I knew what it was to lose a parent, even an estranged one. It was never easy.

Thor then told me about Hela, their secret sister and the doom she had brought upon Asgard.

“Did your father really never mentioned her?” I asked, taken aback. My dad was far from perfect but at least, he was honest and would never have kept such a huge secret from me.

“No. But I can understand why. From what I’ve gathered, they were quite the formidable duo back in the days, destroying and bringing death in their wake. I think he was ashamed of his past, ashamed of her”, admitted Thor.

I had never met Odin, but he had always seemed like a benevolent King to me. Not the father of the year, judging by his tumultuous relationship with both his sons, but good to the core.

“Did you know?” I turned my eyes to Loki, who once again, seemed startled I even acknowledged him.

“No, I wish I had known, though. It would have been a relief to learn that I wasn’t the only sibling he abhorred.”

“Father didn’t abhor you, Loki”, retorted Thor with a scowl. “He just… didn’t understand you”.

“He never cared enough to even try to understand me”. There was a lot of resentment and sadness in Loki’s words and I couldn’t help but relate to his bitterness. My own mother had never understood me either. We had a lot more in common then what I initially thought. That unsettled me…

“So, was she the one who took your eye?” My sudden change of topic wasn’t really subtle but it worked nonetheless.

While Thor resumed his tale, I saw Loki give me a little nod of gratitude. This subject was still a sore one and would probably always be. When I learned about Asgard’s destruction, I couldn’t stop the cry that escaped my gaping mouth.

 “How does Hulk fit into all this?”

I couldn’t help but laugh this time when Thor told me about his misfortunes on Saakar.

 “So, let me get this straight. The people you came with, they are all that remains of your entire civilization?” That was so sad I felt tears burn the corner of my eyes.

Thor and Loki shared a wretched look before nodding.

_OMG… That sucked butt in an intergalactic scale!_

If Loki hadn’t been there, I would have probably threw myself in Thor’s lap and hugged the shit out of him but I stilled had a little bit of decency left. At least, those unnerving green eyes that seemed stuck to my face were making me self-conscious enough to stop me from making an utter fool of myself.

“Guys, that’s awful. I don’t even know what to say… Okay, that’s decided! We’ll have an utterly indecent amount of pizza and spend the night watching stupid comedies. How does that sound?”

I knew I was being ridiculous and that nothing could ease up Thor’s and Loki’s loss but I didn’t know how else to try and make them feel better. Food and laugh had been the best remedy when Jane had dumped Thor, so maybe this would at least make him forget about his pain for a few minutes… Loki was looking at me as if I had just grown a second head, but his brother was smiling.

“Thanks, munchkin”, he simply said and I felt like I had won the World’s Math Triathlon. Being ridiculous was a small price to pay if the result meant making Thor smile like that.

“Oki doki”. I stood up and went back to the kitchen. When I was out of sight, I release a sigh I wasn’t even aware I had been holding.

Right. I could do it. It was easy-peasy.

With Thor acting as a buffer between Loki and I, it could work. Of course, he wouldn’t be here all the time and sooner rather than later, I would be left alone to face the infamous God of Mischief again. But I knew I could manage it. He really seemed to have change for the better and Thor trusted him. And I trusted Thor…

I had faced a full green Hulk and a bloody murderous Ultron and had survived. Dealing with Loki couldn’t be worse than that, right?

 _But you had never wanted to rip_ their _trousers off_ , supplied my very annoying brain.

 _Crap…_ I was in over my head and I knew it, but I would managed to act cool and composed at least for the rest of the day. It wasn’t Loki’s fault that he was all dark and handsome and that I happened to have a soft spot for lost causes. I was a grown woman with the upmost self-control ( _yep, right… shut up brain!)_ and would help Thor dealing with his brother.

“It’s just for a few days”, I told myself, while ordering an astronomical amount of pizza.

What could possibly go wrong?

                Later that evening, as we were watching _21 Jump Street_ on Netflix, Loki spending his time saying how ridiculous it all was (even if I saw him smile a few times, the bad sport), someone knocked at my door.

“FRIDAY? Who is it?”

“Mister Stark”, announced the A.I.

I nearly fell off the couch. I should have guessed that after sending a note to my father about a false and sudden illness, it was just a matter of time before he would come to check up on me. But I definitely wasn’t prepared to deal with it.

“You”, I pointed to Loki. “Hide!”

“Where?” He asked, with an imperious raised eyebrow.

“Put him in the bathroom”, I told Thor before hurrying toward the door. I knew that if I didn’t open it soon enough, my dad would just barged in. It already was a miracle he had knocked in the first place and not just came in without preamble. I waited until I heard Thor come back into the living room before deactivating the lock.

“Hi dad!”

Tony Stark was looking at me with a suspicious frown and without invitation, he walked in.

“You don’t seem sick”, he pointed out before coming to a stop in the middle of the living room when he saw Thor sprawled on the couch.

“Tony”, he acknowledged innocently before taking a bite of the enormous pizza slice he was holding.

“Why am I not surprised?” whispered my Dad, turning back to me.

“Sorry for today, but we had a lot to catch on”, I apologized.

I sat back and watch with horror as my father joined us. How long was he planning on staying? Loki would go ballistic if we let him stay locked up in the bathroom all evening. Thor must have had the same thought, because he froze next to me when Tony took a slice a pepperoni pizza.

“What are we watching?” He asked, putting his feet on the coffee table and making himself comfortable.

Thor and I shared a wide eyed look before I suddenly stood up and said: “I need to pee.”

 _Whoa… Nice, thank you, brain!_ As if this situation wasn’t awkward enough…

I flew out of the living room under surprised eyes and let myself fall against my closed bedroom door. This was such a mess. How would I deal with hiding an Asgardian God in my apartment for weeks, maybe even months, when I wasn’t even sure I could survive a single day? And I was crap at lying. My dad would see through me in no time!

_Stay calm… Breathe…_

I listened to my useful inner voice (for once) and waited until my heartbeat had quieted down before going to the shared bathroom door. When I opened it, I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. Loki, God of Mischief, former King of Asgard, was sitting in the closed lid toilet like if it was a golden throne. He eyed me as if I had lost my mind (which was kind of true) while I burst into laughing at the utter absurdity of the situation.

“Sorry”, I hiccupped between breathes. “I think… I’m having… a nervous… breakdown.”

I couldn’t stop laughing, tears of hilarity falling down my face. Loki was watching me with growing concern, before he stood up and went to the sink. He filled a glass of water and handed it to me, keeping his distance as if I was contagious or something. I drank and the icy feeling slowly soothed my hysterical laughter. Wiping the tears out of my eyes, I went to the sink and splashed my face with freezing water. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I understood why Loki had been staring at me like that. I looked like a lunatic. My cheeks were red, highlighting my freckles, my eyes were huge and wet behind my big glasses and my hair were a mess, untamed dark curls tousled wildly around my face.

_God… I look awful._

But it was too late to be self-conscious now. I caught Loki’s eyes in the mirror and I straighten up, mortified.

“Sorry… it’s… it’s been a long day”, I apologized.

His green eyes flickered with something akin to understanding before he scolded his feature and said: “Am I to understand that Stark has taken my spot on the couch, forcing me to stay here until he decides to leave?”

“Actually, it would be better if you went to the bedroom, just in case. Dad would never set a foot in Steve’s old room. You’ll be safer there. And more comfortable”, I suggested, pointing to the toilet where he had been sitting.

Loki looked into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Why did he have to own such beautiful, intense eyes? How was I supposed not to squirm under his stare? Finally, he took pity on me and turned around to walk into the other bedroom. Before closing the door, he asked, glancing above his shoulder: “Steve, he’s Captain America, right?”

“Yes”, I answered, the old wound still raw in my chest throbbing painfully. 

“You lived together?” His question implied a lot of things that I didn’t even want to acknowledge.

“He is… was my best friend.” I simply clarified.

Loki frowned and I thought for a moment that he looked kind of relieved. But I was probably just imagining things.

“Is he dead?” Came the next unexpected enquiry.

“No, he’s just… gone.”

Without another word, Loki blinked slowly and closed the door behind him. I leant against the sink, breathing hard. If Loki kept looking at me like that, I would surely die of a heart attack. Like, _soon_.

When I came back to the living room and sat between Thor and my Dad, I still felt slightly shaken. There was something about Loki that deeply unsettled me and I didn’t know if I hated it… or liked it.  I decided to forget about the alien that was currently hiding in Steve’s old room to focus on the movie instead. I shared a slice of pizza with my father, my head tucked against his shoulder and simply enjoyed the fact that I was spending a nice evening with two of my favorite people in the universe. Thor was back and despite all the horrors that he had been through, he was safe. Without realizing it, I fell asleep listening to Thor and Tony Stark argue about Channing Tatum’s abs.

Life was strange, but not so bad after all.

                I woke up a couples hours later, I think, when my dad turned the TV off and called my name.

“Zach, baby. I think it’s time to put you to bed”, he whispered.

“Dad!” I argued, still half asleep. “I’m not a child anymore.”

That made Thor laugh. Throwing him an irritated glare, I stretched out and stood up. I walked my dad to the door and let him kiss me on the forehead as we said goodnight. When I was sure he was gone, I turned back to Thor.

“Time to release the beast”.

I walked to the bedroom where Loki had been hidden for several hours now, only to find him fast asleep on the bed, a book open in his lap.

That was… ( _not at all endearing!)_ unexpected. He seemed far less threatening right now, his black locks spread around his pale and peaceful face on the pillow. He almost looked… vulnerable. It made my knees go weak a little.

“Should we let him sleep?” I whispered to Thor, who was watching his brother with a fond look.

He put a finger on his lips before nodding and closing the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning for breakfast, okay? Don’t worry about him, he promised to behave. Just… be patient with him. I know he can be a handful but there is good in him. I know it.”

I tried to be reassured by Thor’s words, but as soon as he left my apartment, I felt a wave of cold dread making its way up my back.

 _It’s going to be okay_ , I repeated myself to the hundred’s times as I laid in my bed. Just to be sure, I stood up to lock my doors and stayed awake for as long as I could. But I finally fell asleep, dreaming about too green eyes and a wolfish smile.

 

                What woke me up in the morning wasn’t my alarm clock, but the smell of something burning. Jumping out of my bed, I didn’t even thought about slipping into a bathrobe before unlocking and opening my door to barge into the kitchen. I stopped dead in my tracks when I discovered what the cause of the awful smell was. I gapped at the scene.

_What the hell?!_

Thor and Loki were standing in front of the stove, both covered in flour. The counter was scattered with eggshells and spilled milk and what seemed to be a burned pancake was smoking in the pan.

“I don’t think it’s supposed to have this color”, said Loki, looking at the blackened piece of pastry.

“I know what I’m doing, okay?” Retorted Thor.  But the way he eyed the smoke coming from the stove meant he was beginning to doubt his cooking skills.

“What the hell?” I said out load this time.

They both turned towards me, like children caught with a hand on the cookie jar. I couldn’t help but snort. They were ridiculous. Loki even had floor on his nose. They looked nothing like mighty Gods of Asgard right now. It was time I came to the rescue if I didn’t want them burning down my kitchen.

“You two, sit!” I ordered.

I was surprised when they both complied without resistance and came to sit at the counter.

“We wanted to cook you breakfast to thank you for your hospitality”, explained Thor. He elbowed Loki so that he would back him up, but the trickster simply shrugged. “That was his idea”. Thor must have kicked him under the counter because he let out an undignified yelp before glaring at his brother.

Rolling my eyes at their shenanigans, I turned toward the stove to try and save what was left of breakfast. The pancake batter seemed okay so I decided to keep it. I threw the burned pastry in the trash and picked out the butter in the fridge.

“You need to grease the pan first if you don’t want it to burn”, I explained while working.

‘I told you it didn’t have the right color”, whispered Loki behind my back.

“Shut up”! Answered Thor.

I smiled at their brotherly banter and barely ten minutes after, I put a plate full of golden and moist pancakes in front of them.

“Et voilà!”

Thor was staring at the baked goods with a dreamy eye but Loki was watching me closely. Only then did I realize I was only wearing a very low cleavage pink tank top with Captain America’ shorts Steve had bought me last Christmas, thinking I would find them funny. I loved them, they were comfy but kind of ridiculous and… tiny. I suddenly felt my face heat up. I could feel Loki’s eyes going from my chest to my bare legs and it was like they were leaving burning strokes in their wake. His green orbs darkened when I dared crossing path with them and I gulped audibly, suddenly feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

I needed to leave, right now. And to take a _very_ long and _very_ cold shower.

Still feeling Loki’s intense eyes on me, I mumbled something intelligible and nearly ran back to my room.

Okay, _that_ definitely was a problem. From now on, I promised to dress like a nun or an Eskimo; I was still debating, as long as Loki would be living here. I could not… I would _NOT_ let myself swoon for a pair of green eyes. Even if they probably were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

Loki was bad news. Loki was dangerous. He was exactly the kind of man I should absolutely stay away from.

_But how do you stay away from your new roommate when he’s placed under house arrest?_

Dwelling on this very upsetting question, I took the coldest shower of my life and when I walked back into the kitchen, I was dressed in an ugly misshapen black sweater and a pair of old jeans. The brothers were still eating and I was surprised to see they had cleaned the kitchen and saved two pancakes for me.

“You are strangely well behaved all of the sudden”, I said, sitting back with them. Thor gave me his trade mark shit eating smile and I knew I wouldn’t like what he was about to ask me. Loki ate in silence, his face expressionless.

“I’ll be busy all day organizing things for our people around the compound. Could you keep company to Loki while I’m gone?” Finally asked Thor.

“I’ve work to do, you know and… I’m not his babysitter”, I complained.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of myself without anyone’s supervision?” Added Loki with a dark frown.

“Please guys. Just for today. I promise tomorrow you’ll be able to go back to your daily routine”.

His damned blue eye should be illegal. Or I needed to build a device that would make me immune to its power. But it wasn’t for today, and unfortunately and all too soon, Thor left and I was once again left alone with the God of Mischief.

When I get back to the kitchen, he was visibly forlorn and as frustrated as me.

“Is it what my life is going to be now? Eating pizza and watching TV all day long?” He asked.

“You won’t have to eat pizza every day but… yes, I guess. At least until Thor finds a way to introduce you back into society without causing bloodshed. What did you do when you were pretending to be a King?”

At least I was trying to make an effort. Our cohabitation would be hell if he insisted on being this pratty. It wasn’t like it was my fault. I was only trying to help…

“I didn’t pretend”, he pointed out, taking a step towards me in outrage. “I was a King. And a pretty good one I might add. Asgard prospered under my rule. My people were happy.”

Putting my hands on my waist, I gave him an unconvinced look.

“Fine, there may have been some diplomatic issues from time to time, and one or two executions, but I wasn’t _that_ bad”, he admitted with a roll of his eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Like a petulant child, he went to the living room and sat heavily on the couch, brooding. “I’ll die of boredom, locked up in this place.”

“You could also use all this _free_ time to learn more about Earth’s culture. I have books and you wouldn’t believe how many good documentaries you can find on TV. It’s not like you have any other choice anyway…” I suggested.

Loki must have sense my helplessness because he nodded. Reluctantly, but it was a start. I remembered that I had an old tablet I barely used anymore I could give him. I would just have to teach him how to use the Internet and he would have enough to keep him occupied. At least for a few days, I hoped.

“Come, I’ve something for you”.

He followed me to my room where I stopped in front of a tall bookshelf. I remembered I had put the tablet on top of it with various items I never used. But even on my tip toes, I could barely reach the last shelf.

“Could you help me, please, I can’t reach…” I let out an unbecoming squeal when, instead of using his height to grab it himself, Loki took me by the waist and lifted me up as if I weighted nothing. It was downright humiliating… and far too hot for my barely maintained sanity. Even through the thick wool of my jumper, I could still feel his hand burning my skin. His strong fingers marked my waist like branding iron and I was suddenly breathless. I still managed to grab the tablet with a trembling hand and closed my eyes until Loki decided to put me down.

Once back on my feet, I turned around and realized it had been a mistake. He was standing so close I could see each one of his long and dark lashes fanning across his high cheekbones as he looked down at me.

_Fuck, he was handsome…_

With pale skin and gleaming eyes and a proud nose and pink lips which were stretched in a lopsided grin. And he probably knew I was entranced by his physical perfection, the twisted fucker! I was blushing like a damned fool and I bet my pupils were awfully wide.

“You…” I managed to croak. “You could have just grabbed it yourself, you know.”

“Oh, I know, but it would have been far less fun”, he soughed against my ear.

He had a fresh and minty smell that was heady. I could feel the warmth of his skin, so close to mine, I tingled all over. An alarm blurted into my head when his smile became playful.

Okay! That was enough! _Keep it together Zach!_

With a strength I didn’t even know I had, I walked around him and put as much space between us as possible. I left my room and came to sit on the armchair instead of the couch. With a devilish smile, Loki joined me and sat in front of me, his eyes never leaving my burning face. Avoiding his gaze, I gave him the tablet and retrieved my fingers before they could touch his.

“Right” I cleared my throat. “Pay attention, I’ve got a lot to show you.”

When he let out a little laugh and glanced at me from underneath his lashes, I knew I was screwed.

 


	6. Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter. It's a little shot but I promise I'll update sooner next time.
> 
> Happy reading!

**Chapter Five: Weird**

I spent the rest of the morning explaining to Loki how to surf the web. He picked up the basics pretty quickly and I wasn’t surprised when the first thing he did was checking out his own name on Google.

_Figures…_

“Your people really believe the strangest things. I have never fathered an eight legged horse and I have NEVER transformed into a woman to try and trick my brother. It’s preposterous!” He grumbled, looking at the tablet as if it had personally insulted him.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his outraged face. “Yes, our mythologies can be quite ridiculous sometimes”, I conceded.

We remained silent as he went on searching for random things on the Internet, ranting about this and that in irritated whispers. I used this relatively companionable peace to check out my own work on my laptop and send a few emails. But all too soon, Loki lifted his eyes toward me and said: “I’m hungry”.

Kind of peckish myself, I went to the kitchen. “I’ll have to show you how to use the stove because I won’t be here all the time and you’ll have to cook your own meals.”

“Why?” He asked, sitting at his usual spot at the counter.

“Because I have a life and I’m not your _goddamned_ housemaid. Starting from tomorrow, you’ll have to manage all on your own. But it won’t be that complicated given that you, and I quote ‘Can take care of yourself without a chaperon’”, I answered with a little mocking smile.

He didn’t seem to like that I used his own words against him. He was brooding. _What a prat…_

“I’ve always had people serving me. I’m a King. Kings do not cook their own meals”.

Turning from the fridge to face him, I lifted a derisive eyebrow. “You’re not a King anymore, Thor is and trust me when I say that despite the pancake debacle from this morning, he definitely can cook his own gigantic meals. So deal with it!”

He glared at me with a darkening face but I stood my ground. “It’s this or you’ll just starve. I couldn’t care less, really”, I added before starting to make the spaghetti Bolognese I had planned for lunch.

“Fine, wench! Show me”, he finally agreed, reluctantly coming to stand beside me.

I decided not to mention the “ _wench_ ” comment and started to explain to a freaking Asgardian God how to make pasta. My life really was strange…

While we waited for the water to boil, I could feel Loki standing far too close behind me. I didn’t like that, or more accurately, I liked it far too much. Turning to face him, I saw the way he was looking at me, with hooded eyes and a predatory smile.

_No way! I would not fall into that trap!_

“Let me stop you right there, Romeo”, I stated, pushing against his chest to make him step back. But he barely budged.

 _Bloody Asgardians…._ I sidetracked him to maintain a certain distance between us and stopped him when he moved forward. “This”, I added, my hands moving wildly from him to me. “The two of us”, I emphasized, wanted to be crystal clear. “It’s not going to happen. Like EVER!”

“Why?” Asked Loki, visibly surprised. “I know that you find me attractive.” The wolfish smile was back but I would not let myself be blinded by his charms.

“Of course I find you attractive, I’m not blind! But that doesn’t mean I’m going to jump your bones. I… I don’t even like you!”

“Trust me, for what I have in mind, you don’t need to like me”, he said with a voice as soft and sensual as silk and melted honey combined. He took another step forward, my outstretched hand coming to rest on his chest.

 _Oh boy…_ I could feel his strong muscles under my fingers. My heart was beating so fast I felt dizzy.

“That’s the main problem, dude. I don’t trust you. So, for the last time, I said NO.” My refusal was final and I hoped he got the message or I’ll have to use my wristband…

But before I could form another threat in my head, Loki raised his hands in surrender and took a step back. “Fine. But if you change your mind…”

“I won’t change my mind”, I cut aggressively, more for my own weakened knees than anything else.

“Then, why are you so nice to me?” He asked with visible frustration.

It was like he failed to grasp why anyone would show any kindness to him without having an ulterior motive. That was… kind of sad, really. All anger leaving my body, I went back to the stove to put the pasta into the now boiling water and was happy to see that Loki kept his distance.

“Because Thor asked me to take care of you, and I don’t want to disappoint him. At least we have that in common”, I answered with a shrug.

“Oh, I get it, you are one of _those_ girls”. The derision in his voice was palpable.

“What does _that_ mean?”

“Don’t play coy. You like him.”

“Of course I like him, he’s my friend. What…” and suddenly, I understood what he meant and wanted to laugh and puck at the same time.

Facing Loki, the wooden spoon I was holding waving wildly, I snorted. “No! I have never and will never like him like that. Yes, he’s hot, but he’s like a brother to me. And, if you really want to know, he’s not really my type.”

“And what is _your_ type?” Loki asked as if not being attracted to his brother was abnormal or something.

I turned back to the stove again and without really thinking ( _thank you, useless brain_ ), I answered: “Thor’s too broad and muscular and… blond. I like them slenderer and dark.” Only when I heard Loki snort did I realize what I just said and faced him, a wild blush burning my cheeks.

He had that smile again…

_Well done, Zach! You’ve just admitted to the bloody God of Mischief that he was the embodiment of your wildest fantasy. Nice…_

“That’s… I didn’t mean…” I mumbled like an idiot.

“Don’t fret, wench”, Loki said, interrupting me with a raised hand. His eyes were so intense I could probably have lost my very soul in them if he hadn’t turned to the stove and added: “What do you do now?”

Very thankful for his unusual gallantry, I let out a little relieved sigh and resumed my cooking lesson. My skin was still crawling with delicious and dangerous little shivers when Loki stood too close for comfort or frowned when he asked silly and cute questions, (like what was the right amount of Bolognese to put on your spaghetti) but I managed without making a total fool of myself.

We ate in relative silence and Loki even complimented my cooking skills.

Why had he decided to act less _prattily_ now, just when I had convinced myself that disliking him was the best way to make him less attractive? He would be much more difficult to hate if he became tolerable.

 _Crap… Crap. CRAP!_ I just hoped he would be back to his smug and pratty self soon.

                The rest of the day past agonizingly slow. I showed Loki how to use the oven, described the content of my fridge and cupboards and added several useful website to his tablet’s bookmarks. After that, I honestly didn’t know what to do. So I simply sat on the couch and worked from my laptop, hoping that Thor would be back soon so I could escape the uneasy tension that hovered over both our heads. Loki seemed okay with it, his eyes glued to his tablet’ screen all afternoon. I could feel him stare at me from time to time but I didn’t dare looking up.

Finally, at seven o’clock, Thor came in with his usual beaming smile. As soon as I saw him, I stood up and flew out of the flat as if it was on fire.

I really needed to get some air. 

Roaming the corridors of the compound, I decided to go check on my latest project. Work had always been a great stress reliever for me. On my way to the science laboratory, I crossed path with a young man who seemed utterly lost. It was obvious he was one of the Asgardian refugee, with his long braided hairs and his dumbstruck look. He was wearing earth clothes, a plain white shirt and blue slacks, probably some standard military casual outfit my Dad’s employees had given him. But there was something noticeably alien about him.

I couldn’t help but think that I would have to find Loki some clothes that fitted him better than the ones in Steve’s old closet. But I kicked this though out of my mind as soon as the man bright hazel eyes found mine.

 _He was cute…_ Was it an Asgardian’s trait or something?

He had light brown hairs, a proud chin and broad shoulders. Not really my type, but I was so done with tall dark and broody men that I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Can I help you?” I asked, stopping to face him.

“Yes, thanks Odin. I think I must have taken a wrong turn. I was looking for the dining room”, he explained, visibly relieved.

“I can take you there, it’s not far. I’m Zach, by the way”. I outstretched my hand towards him and he looked at it strangely. “That’s how we introduce ourselves on Earth. We shake hands”, I explained.

With a warm smile, he delicately took my fingers and brought them to his lips. “I’m Kennan. And that’s how a gentleman introduce himself to a lovely lady on Asgard”, he sought against my hand before lightly kissing my knuckles.

I knew I was blushing but with Kennan, it bothered me far less than with Loki. Once again admonishing myself for thinking about him when I was facing a far gentler and nicer Asgardian, I took my hand back and asked Kennan to follow me. We chatted on our way to the cafeteria. He told me that everything seemed so strange to him here, but that he appreciated our hospitality. I vaguely explained what kind of work I was doing and before I realized it, we were standing in front of the dining hall.

“Would you care to join me?” Asked Kennan, bowing his head with a flourish.

I wasn’t the kind of girl to fall for mushy gestures like that, but I found his chivalry refreshing. So, I agreed. We walked in and waited in line. At this hour, the cafeteria was crowded but I could see Cheryl and Tom, two of my coworkers, waving at me from a table. Kennan must have seen them because he asked: “Would you mind if we dined alone? I still feel out of my element.”

I didn’t mind at all. This guys was charming and it had been far too long since anyone had shown any interest in me. We selected our food, Kennan following my lead and we sat at a two seat table in the corner.

“So, Zach. Tell me more about this fascinating work you are conducting”, he started.

His eyes were bright and he really seemed interested in what I was doing.

_Okay… he was definitely cute!_

I was in the middle of explaining him the next step in my project when my cell phone chimed in my pocket.

“Sorry”, I apologized, taking it out. It was a text from my dad. He was asking me to join him in his office ASAP. “I’ve to go, Kennan. But it was a pleasure meeting you.”

I was already halfway up when he took my hand and asked: “Would you agree to meet me here tomorrow evening?”

Was it a date? My stomach felt strangely hollow at the thought. But I remembered I had promise Thor we would eat together.

“I can’t but… maybe the day after tomorrow at noon?” I offered.

Kennan smile was blinding. Once again kissing my knuckles, he let go of my hand and nodded. “I can’t wait. Good evening, my lady.”

Oh… I was blushing again. I was far too sensitive to Asgardian’s charm for my own good. I wished him goodnight as well and nearly ran out of the cafeteria. I only stopped when I reached my dad’s office.  Standing in front of his door, I took a deep breath and checked that my cheeks were no longer burning before putting my hand on the panel on the wall.

“Welcome, Miss Zacharie”, announced FRIDAY’s feminine robotic voice.

The gate opened and I walked into Tony Stark’s office. The man himself was standing in front of one of his holographic wall, his fingers moving wildly on the board.

“Hi kiddo,” he said without even glancing my way.

I went to him and he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead before turning back to the board. I glanced at it and rolled my eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re still working on this stupid tracking device!”

“It’s not stupid. It will be very useful when the Avengers…”

“What Avengers? Half the team is scattered to the wind”, I interrupted, unable to bite back my resentment.

That at least made Tony stop staring at his board to look my way. He watched me closely and I knew he could still see fresh pain in my face. I felt guilt gnaw at my insides when his eyes clouded in remorse. I didn’t want to blame him. He wasn’t the only guilty party in this story…

Putting a hand on his arm, I took a step forward and smiled apologetically. He grinned back, still a little sad and cupped my face, boring his eyes into mine.

“How are you, baby? I was told you weren’t back at work today.”

Softened by his concern, I answered: “I’m okay now. I’ll be back tomorrow, I promise. How are things with the Asgardians?”

The change of subject was a relief. We sat on the couch near his big desk, scattered with so many unfinished devices it barely looked like a desk anymore, more like a garbage dump.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve given them restricted access to the facility and we need to upgrade some of the security doors. I don’t want them to walk the corridors at will, but we’ll have to add their fingerprints to the mainframe so they can access some parts of the building like the gardens and the training courts. I want them to feel at home for the duration of their stay. Thor and I are already trying to find a place far enough from society where they could live and preserve their culture but it’ll take some time. Thunderbolt is being a bitch, as usual… Could you take care of the security updates in the meantime? You’ll just have to enter their names and scan their palms to the main computer. I trust it won’t be too difficult for you, you seem to already like their company.”

His last sentence gave me pause and I froze. Dread infuse itself into my blood and I straighten up. Did my dad knew about Loki? No… he couldn’t. If he knew, he would have gone ballistic…

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, fear still seizing my chest.

“I meant the far too handsy guy who you eat with just a few minutes ago”.

_Oh! Kennan! Thank you lord…_

Letting out a sigh of relief, I then squinted my eyes at my dad. “How do you know about that?”

His innocent expression had never fooled me, it was preposterous he still thought that using it would work on me.

“Dad!” I yelled, standing up in incredulity. “When are you going to stop spying on me? I’m 25 for Godsake!

“You’ll always be my little girl”, he simply stated, sounding very much like Thor when I had asked him to stop calling me _munchkin_.

_God, they were unbelievable!_

“For you information, his name is Kennan and he’s not _handsy_ , he is quite a gentleman, actually”, I found myself clarifying.

“Well, I don’t like him”, stated Tony, crossing grumpily his arms over his chest.

“You don’t even know him, dad! And you’ve never like any of my boyfriends anyway.”

“So he’s your boyfriend now?” He stood up with a stormy face.

“No! I barely know him. But he’s nice and all. It’s been so long since any guy has shown any interest towards me. Please dad, don’t scare him away”, I pleaded.

“It’s because you’re far too good for them. They don’t dare ask you out”, said Tony before putting an arm over my shoulder and hugging me into this chest.

“Yeah, that’s probably it.” I mumbled against his shoulder.

I didn’t have the heart to burst his little fatherly bubble. The truth was, I was weird. And even if I wasn’t downright ugly, I hadn’t inherited my dad’s charm. He could make any women swoon with a single wink. I was just… ordinary. But if he saw me as beautiful and bright, it was fine by me. At least, to his eyes, I was worth everything. And it was enough for me.

I made him promise to drop this Kennan business and left. I still went to my lab and tinkered with my project until my eyes watered and I let out a huge yawn. I couldn’t avoid my flat forever. So, with a slight feeling of dread tickling my neck, I went back to my apartment.

I found Loki and Thor sitting on the couch, talking. When they heard me come in, they stopped their conversation and both looked up at me.

“Hi guys. Everything okay?” I asked, uncomfortable under their intense stare.

“Everything’s fine”, answered Thor but I knew he was lying.

It was late and I didn’t want to intrude any longer so, after wishing them goodnight, I flew into my room. Before I closed the door, I’m pretty sure I heard Loki say: “She’s weird”. Thor only laughed.

Yep. _Weird…_

 


	7. The New Normal

**Chapter Six: The New Normal**

                The next few days were pretty uneventful and I barely saw Loki. When I woke up to go to work, he was still sleeping in Steve’s (no, _his_ ) room and when I came back in the evening, we barely exchanged a few words before he disappeared behind the bedroom door.

_Strange…_ But it suited me. I could at last concentrate on my work and forget about his haughtily presence. Every night, I walked in thinking I would find my kitchen burned down or my apartment ransacked, but no. Loki was a neat freak and everything was spotless. He only honored me with his presence when Thor came to eat dinner with us.

I had had lunch with Kennan three times already and we rapidly decided to eat together every day at noon. He was a great guy, funny and interesting, but I couldn’t help but think that he was too good to be true and that one day, the other shoe would drop.

On our first weekend of forced cohabitation, Loki and I found ourselves alone in the flat and in each other’s company for two days. Thor was unavailable and couldn’t play buffer between us. I was dreading it so much…

When I woke on Saturday morning, far later than usual, Loki was already up and about. I went to the kitchen and saw him sitting at the counter in front of a steaming cup of tea. Thor and I had brought him more fitting clothes earlier in the week and he was now wearing a long sleeved black shirt with sleeping pants.

“Good morning”, I said, rubbing my eyes behind my glasses and yawning.

He didn’t say anything, just watched me while I was making coffee.

“You’re not working today?” He finally asked when I sat, facing him.

“Never on Saturday and Sunday, it’s called a weekend and most people on Earth use those days to relax and have fun”, I explained.

He frowned and I didn’t know if it meant he was just finding it strange or if he was displease to hear he would have to spend two whole days with me.

“Do you want some pancakes?” I asked, feeling it would maybe brighten the uneasy atmosphere.

“Yes, it would be nice”, he said with a shrug.

Giving him a shy smile, I stood up and rummage through my cupboards and the fridge to find what I needed to make the mix. Knowing he ate a lot, I took out a big bowl as well and started to work. Loki came at my side and watched me and for once, his presence didn’t upset me that much. I felt strangely at ease and content, with him next to me, silently learning the recipe. 

“You’re making a lot of pastry”, noticed Loki.

“I’ve seen you eat, I’m making just enough, trust me”, I answered with a little laugh.

I glanced at him and saw he was watching me with a lopsided grin.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing”, he said, shaking his head.

I made at least fifteen pancakes and we started to eat without talking. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the silence was a little unnerving. And I was a chatterbox by nature, so I decided to say something, anything, really, to put an end to it.

“So, how do you find Earth so far?” I asked.

Loki lifted his eyes to mine. “I can’t really tell, seeing I only stepped outside to get from the ship to this place”, he answered with a nasty smile.

“I can understand how frustrating it must be, but…”

“No, you don’t!” He snapped, stabbing his pancake forcefully with his fork. “You are free to go wherever you want while I’m stuck here!”

“You don’t have to be a jerk about it. It’s not my fault you’re wanted to Earth”, I retorted, feeling anger bubbling up my chest.

“Your pitiful people crave subjugation, I was only trying to lead you into a more glorious path”.

When he said it, Loki really looked like the crazed and vicious alien that had attacked Earth all those years ago. I had never faced this part of him before and it was pretty disturbing.

Was he trying to scare me? Because if he was, it wasn’t working. I was more pissed than anything else. Standing up, I wanted to throw my cutlery at his face so much my knuckled cracked around my fork.

“My _pitiful_ people, as you call them, are the ones who agreed to save yours from extinction, you smug prat! So I wouldn’t be so insulting if I were you. You don’t know us. We don’t crave subjugation, we fight against it since the dawn of time. It’s people like you who are the problem, the bullies, the self-proclaimed kings and Gods. You brought this situation on yourself, jerk!”

_Whoa…_ I didn’t know I had such repressed anger. Loki was really bringing out the worst in me.

He stood to face me, his feature dark and his glare murderous.

“You listen, you insignificant little idiot. You know nothing of the universe. You and your people are nobody, merely a blip in time. I am ageless and I know, I’ve lived thing you can’t even begin to understand. If I had my powers, you…”

I had had enough of it. Without my brain’s consent, my hand flew to his cheek and I hit him so hard my entire arm tingled in pain. But the main things was that I had cut his garbage monologue and he was gaping at me, speechless.

With an ugly smile, I sniggered: “Yes, but you don’t and you’re stuck with me, pal. On _my_ planet, at _my_ people’s will. So stop your whining and deal with it like the _ageless_ being you’re supposed to be, you intergalactic prat. I’m not afraid of you.”

On this, I took the plate of remaining pancakes and threw them in the trash. “No pancakes for you!” I shouted before leaving the kitchen in hurried step. I locked my bedroom door behind me and let out an angry roar.

_What a complete jerk!_ I hated him!

I spent the rest of the morning reading on my bed and when I came out to make myself a sandwich, Loki was nowhere to be seen. Seeing as he couldn’t leave the flat, I guessed he was brooding in his room.

_Good riddance!_ He would come out when he would realized what a jerk he had been!

_God, I felt like I was dealing with a bloody child!_

I watched some chick-flicks on Netflix all afternoon without seeing Loki rear his head. But near six o’clock, probably motivated by his stomach since he had skipped lunch, the Asgardian walked out of his room. When he saw me on the couch, I thought he would turn around of go hide in the kitchen, but no. To the contrary, he smiled wickedly and came to sit on the armchair next to me. Pausing “ _Princess Bride_ ”, I turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Why are you smiling like that? I don’t like it”, I asked, dread tightening my chest.

“You’re just not what I expected”, he answered cryptically.  

Frowning, my brain kicked in and finally, an answer formed into my head. But it wasn’t possible. Surely, Loki wasn’t that nasty and manipulative… But I had forgotten who I was talking to.

“Did you… did you say all those awful things about my people just to… what? Trick me? See how I would react to your utter prattiness?”

“Maybe”, he only said with a shrug, his shiteating smile widening.

_Sonofabitch!_ It was perhaps even worse than if he had really meant those horrible things.

_What a manipulative jerk!_

I realized I had said that last sentence out load when Loki burst out laughing, surprising me.

“God of Mischief”, he gave as an explanation.

“Why in God’s name did you do something so… awful?” I couldn’t help but ask.

My disgust seemed to really entertain him.

“I couldn’t understand why my brother trusted you this much, but I do now. You’re a feisty little thing. You’re loyal and don’t back down from a fight. I can appreciate it, especially in a woman.” He clarified, his grin glued to his face.

I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or slap him again. At least, I was relieved to learn he hadn’t mean what he had said about Earth. But I didn’t know if I would one day trust such a man, who used deception and manipulation to get his way.

“I don’t like being deceived like that. If you really want trust to go both ways, please never do that again”.

His eyes sparkled with mirth. “Or what? You’ll deprive me of pancakes again?”

“Maybe”. He wasn’t the only one who could use this answer as a default setting.

His eyes widen in genuine dread.

_Guys and their stomach…_

Still a little uneasy, I ordered us Chinese and we ate in the kitchen. Loki was the one who tried to initiate conversation, talking about the food and his newfound passion for eggrolls, but I mainly stayed silent. I was lost in my thoughts and couldn’t wait to be alone again so I could reflect about what had happened today. Loki really was a complicated guy and I still didn’t really understand him. Maybe I never would. But I hated the thought of living with someone so untrustworthy. I only hoped that Thor would find another place for him sooner rather than later, because I didn’t know if my sanity would survive being the God of Mischief roommate for long…

                Sunday passed in a blur; where I mainly stayed in my room and spend the late afternoon with Uncle Jim (Rhodes), my Dad and Pepper. I barely saw Loki and when I went home that night, he was in his room. The tension between us hadn’t loosen since his little manipulation and I was afraid it would never get easier. But, it was a few days later, after one tiring Thursday afternoon, that my whole routine changed suddenly.

                I went home earlier than usual that day, too exhausted to go back to my lab after spending hours scanning all the Asgardians’ fingerprints. When I walked in, I found Loki sprawled in the couch, watching Netflix. And he seemed engrossed enough by the TV not to hear me come in. When I sneaked up behind him to check what he was watching with such rapture, my eyes widen.

“Are you watching _Star Trek_?”

My question startled him enough to make him leap from the couch. “I wanted to learn how your people saw aliens and found myself engrossed by this adventure”, he judged useful to explained, as if he had to justify his actions.

“You won’t get any complain from me. I love _Star Trek_!”

Simply nodding, Loki sat back and resumed watching the screen as if I wasn’t even there. I debated with myself what to do. In one hand, I was tired and could use a good nap, but I really loved this show and it would be good for our relationship (or lack of, more accurately) if we could learn to at least bear each other’s company. I told myself that I was doing it for Thor, but really, I was intrigued to see what Loki found that fascinating about _Star Trek_.

“If you want to get the full binge-watching experience, you’ll need popcorn”, I decided.

I could feel Loki watching me while I disappeared in the kitchen. When I came back with the biggest bowl of popcorn ever, I put it in the coffee table.

“Scootch”, I said.

Loki folded his tall legs to give me room on the couch. He glanced at me from time to time, as if to make sure I wasn’t leaving, before he engrossed himself back into the story that was unfolding before his eyes.

At the end of the episode, while waiting for a new one to charge, I picked up the bowl of popcorn and put it between us on the couch. “Help yourself. I’m sure you’ll love it.” I had noticed that Loki had a sweet tooth, the chocolate and biscuits inside my cupboard disappearing at an alarming rate.

_Thank God I had a secret stash in my room…_

He looked at the popcorn with uncertainty, before trying some. One minute later, he was eating them by handful. I held back a laugh and turned my attention back to the TV.

“Oh! It’s Khan’s episode. It’s one of my favorite”, I revealed with enthusiasm.

At the beginning, Loki said nothing and I gathered that he was the kind of person who enjoyed silence while watching TV, but near the end of the episode, he said: “I don’t understand why they think this Khan character is a villain. He seems like a pretty decent guy to me.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised”, I smiled.

Of course Loki would rule for one of the biggest bad guy of the franchise.

I thought he was about to resume his silent watching when he suddenly pressed pause and turned toward me. “There is one thing I don’t understand. Why is Kirk losing his time seducing so many random women when he has a perfectly suitable mate in his crew?”

I nearly chocked on my popcorn.

“What do you mean?” I was almost afraid to ask.

“Spock, obviously!” Loki seemed really passionate about this and something in my chest fluttered. Was Loki a bloody fanboy at heart? Did he even realize that they were just fictional characters? Okay, now I was laughing. And having real fun.

Straightening up, I faced him and couldn’t hide my excitement when I said: “Oh man, and you haven’t even seen the half of it. Wait until we watch _Amok Time_ , it the worst!”

“Then, let’s watch it”, decided Loki with the utmost seriousness.

He didn’t need to ask me twice. Taking the controller from his outstretched hand, I selected the right episode and snuggled back into the couch.

“Be ready to get blinded by so much homoerotic feelings you won’t see straight for hours”, I warned. Usually, people looked at me like a lunatic when I said those kind of things. But Loki just snorted and shook his head in utter amusement.

“I’m ready”, he simply said with a little smile that left me breathless.

Yep. I loved _Star Trek_.

                We spend the entire evening and a good part of the night binge-watching my favorite episodes completely out of order and honestly had a lot of fun. We discussed about nearly every aspects of the show and I was this close to play the first of the most recent movies, where one of the actors really looked like Thor, when I saw the hour.

“Crap, I didn’t realize it was this late”.

Like if the strange spell that had kept us enjoying each other company had abruptly shattered, the playful sparkle in Loki’s eyes died off. I felt very cold and empty all of the sudden. I didn’t realize how much I had missed freely exchanging easy banter with someone without thinking of the consequences. Since Steve, I barely had any fun at all. And even if it was with Loki, of all people, I didn’t want it to end.

“Raincheck?” I offered, not wanting to sound too hopeful. And to my utmost surprise, Loki nodded.

“Okay… goodnight, I guess”. I stood up from the couch and felt light and giddy.

_What was happening to me?_

“Sleep well, Zach”, Loki said.

It was the first time he called me by my name and not “wench” or “Stark”. It did crazy little thing to my insides.

When I jumped into my bed, I felt conflicted. Loki was a bad guy, but he was cool. He could be as cold as ice, but was funny. Loki was complicated. And God knows how much I loved solving puzzles.

 

                When I went to the kitchen to eat breakfast the next morning, feeling far more chipper than usual, there was a note on the counter. Picking it up, surprised, I realized that it was a shopping list.

If Loki wanted me to pick up groceries, he could have just asked me _… So much for being less pratty…_

How he even knew about shopping lists totally escaped me, but I guessed that after spending ungodly hours on the Internet, he must have picked out useful things about Earth’s everyday life… Like groceries.

But I realized that now that I had another roommate that ate a gargantuan quantity of food, I really needed to fill up my nearly empty cupboards. It wasn’t like Loki could go to the nearest store and buy groceries by himself. Reading the list while drinking my morning coffee, I saw that he had added chocolate chips with a hasty hand at the very end.

_Why would we need chocolate chips for?_

Shrugging, I left a note of my own on the counter saying that I would be late this evening because I had to go bloody shopping. I didn’t know where this sudden domestic nonsense came from, but it reminded me of a better time, when Steve and I used to leave each other funny post-its everywhere in the apartment. I kinda liked it.

                I had lunch with Thor and my dad at noon, Kennan being detained doing God knows what. We had barely sat down when my father looked at me with a frown.

_What? Did I have something on my nose?_

“You seem… I don’t know, brighter, today baby,” Dad noticed.

“Is it because of Kennan?” Asked Thor, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

With an exaggerated roll of eyes, I pleaded: “Could you two stop meddling with my love life, please?”

“Love life, eh?” Added the Asgardian while Tony groaned: “I don’t like it.”

_God! They were worse than a mother hen!_

If I had woken up with a smile on my face, that was a good thing, right? It was because today was sunny and it was Friday and yes, I had kind of a date with Kennan on Sunday, but it wasn’t that much of a change in demeanor on my part. I was a cheery person to begin with. No use mentioning it or trying to find causes for my sudden _brightness_ ( _thank you, Dad_ ). I had had a good night sleep, that’s why I felt cheerier today. It had nothing to do with anything remotely linked to my love life or the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about Loki’ smile.

_Nope. Nothing. NOT A THING._

“Let’s talk about something else, shall we? What did you two have been up to?” I was the best at changing subjects and while Thor lunged into the tale of his daily duties at the facility, I let out a discreet sigh.

_Asgardians were really a nuisance…_

I learned that Hulk seemed to be behaving but that Banner still had not reappeared, despite my dad’s best efforts. They needed Natasha, but she had vanished at the same time as Steve and was sneaky enough never to be found if she wanted to. For once, I kind of missed her…

                After work, I commandeered Thor to come with me to the store to get groceries. Most of it would obviously be for his brother, so the least he could do was to help me carry the enormous and heavy bags… He agreed with a smile and a shrug, saying it would do him good to get out of the compound for a while. I had to smother a laugh and nearly bite my lips hard enough to draw blood when I saw him contort himself when he got into my minuscule car. Dad had tried to buy me one of those large SUVs, but I was tiny and my little Mini was far easier to park (especially in New York). The mighty Thor look kind of ridiculous with his knees pressed against his chest, sitting in my passager seat.

“I never understood why women enjoyed small and cute things. It’s not practical at all!” He muttered as I started the car.

“Because we don’t have anything to prove”, I winked.

Thor frowned, not getting it and I snorted. I was definitely not going to start a conversation about big cars and masculinity.

We drove in relative silence and a few minutes later, I parked into the nearest supermarket. When we got out, I took care of getting us a cart while Thor, impressive even dressed in mundane clothes, was waiting for me. He had put some sunglasses on, probably trying to hide his identity, but he still attracted all the eyes of the people nearby. Even with short hair, Thor was pretty recognizable.

“You look like a starlet. Take these off. It’s nearly nighttime, the only things you’ll do is attract even more attention to yourself”, I warned.

Thor looked around us and saw I was right. A group of teenagers already had their smartphone raised in the air and were taking pictures of us. I had nearly forgotten how it felt like to walk around in the outside world with an Avenger at my side. With Steve, it had been the worst, people constantly stopping us in the streets to take selfies or shake his hand. I had always felt invisible next to him…

Thinking about Steve bringing far too many nostalgic memories, I shook my head and ushered Thor inside. While I was choosing between several brand of milk (seeing as Loki made an inhuman consumption of it), Thor asked: “How… how are thing with my brother?”

Glancing at him, I saw he felt uneasy, checking out a pack of yogurts instead of looking at me.

“Things are better”, I admitted, putting five huge bottles of milk into the cart. Thor lifted an eyebrow at that and I just shrugged. “We actually had a Netflix marathon last night”.

“What that’s supposed to mean?” Asked Thor, taking charge of pushing the cart when he saw I was already struggling.

_Bloody Asgardians…_

“Nevermind. What’s important is that we found common ground, mostly. We’re not besties but… we can at least talk without things getting awkward.” I explained.

Thor looked at me strangely. I didn’t know what he saw in my face but he suddenly frowned. "Be careful, Zach.” I knew that he was dead serious when he used my name. _He never called me Zach…_    “I know my brother and I’m trying to give him another chance, but… just… don’t fall for him, okay?”

I felt my eyes bulge out of their socket.

_WTF?_

I wasn’t and I would never fall in love with Loki! It was true, he was handsome, but I wasn’t some clueless clot who swooned before the first pretty face. I knew Loki’ story and that he was dangerous. I would never be stupid enough to fall for him…

“That’s not going to happen, Thor. I promise you. Hell would freeze over before I decide to fall for the God of Mischief”, I answered with a very unladylike snort.

Thor was still looking at me with a serious face. “He can be very charming when he wants to be so… just, please, for me, don’t let yourself get fooled.”

Smiling at him to definitely put his mind at ease, I promised. I wasn’t interested in Loki anyway, he was far too smug and pratish for my taste. I preferred nice guys. Moreover, I was far too busy with my work and focused on starting something with Kennan to fall for _Loki_ of all people.

Putting this ridiculous thought out of my mind, I resumed picking out groceries, Thor adding the most preposterous things to the cart from time to time. It was like going shopping with a child…

Nobody was brave enough to come and talk to us, but the God of Thunder was positively recognized by many of the people we passed. Happy to just chat and enjoy my friend’s company without interruption, we got out nearly an hour later with so many bags I thought I was hallucinating. Like a huge and blond mule, Thor carried them all into the car, leaving me with only a pack of chips and apples, despite my annoyance. We drove back to the facility, my car weighting much more than usual, and we used my private entrance from the outside to carry out the groceries.

When I opened the door, my arms charged with a bag so full it nearly hide my face, I called: “Loki? Could you help us, please? We’re loaded!”

“We?” came his voice from the couch. _Did he ever leave it from time to time?_

Answering his question for him, Thor appeared in the threshold. “Good evening, brother.”

I finally dropped my bag on the floor next to the kitchen entrance and saw Loki frowning at his elder. Why he did seem unhappy to see Thor was beyond me, but that wasn’t the point. He was still sitting on the couch, not really motivated to help us.

_Prat!_

Rolling my eyes, I went out to get another bag and when I came back, Thor and Loki were arguing. Curious, I stopped just outside the door to listen.

“Do you have to be here all the time to check on me? I’m not going to eat her alive, you know”, said Loki.

“I’m trusting you enough to let you share an apartment with her. I’m not here to check on you, I’m here because Zach asked me to accompany her to the store to buy groceries for _you_ ,” answered Thor, sounding quite angry.

“I would have been happy to get them myself, if I hadn’t been imprisoned in this place!” Retorted Loki.

_Oh… this topic again._

Loki was not pleased either. Again, I could understand his frustration, but what were we supposed to do? Let him freely roam the compound corridors? _Yeah, right! My dad would just love that!_ And he was still wanted on Earth. One step out of the door and Loki would be taken by the military or I don’t know which government agency and imprisoned for life. In a real jail. Maybe they would even make experiments on him…

Shaking my head to make these awful thoughts go away, I listened again.

“For the hundreds’ time, Loki, we are only trying to protect you”, explained Thor with a sigh.

“We? Who’s _we_? The little wench can’t stand me!”

_Whoa_ , I wasn’t expecting him to actually sound so bitter. It was almost like he hoped I would come to like him. If it was true, he had a strange way to show it…

“Maybe if you tried to be nice for a change, she would”, Thor interrupted my train of thoughts. “She’s doing everything she can to help you, even if she doesn’t have to. She’s choosing to help us. And you’re wrong, I think you’re starting to grow on her.”

“What gave you this ridiculous idea?” Asked Loki, wearing a mocking grin, I was sure of it.

“Why else do you think she would buy you liters of milk, just because you happen to love it?”

Thor was having a point. Why did I bought so many bottles of milk? Yes, I liked it and needed it at breakfast, but usually, I wasn’t a big fan of it… And I had noticed that Loki seemed to really enjoy the beverage. That arose far too many questions I didn’t want to find the answers to. I decided it was time to put an end to their argument, but just as I was about to come in, Thor added: “I’m warning you Loki, if you ever hurt her…” He stopped when he saw me and smiled like if nothing had happened.

Still sitting on the couch, Loki stared at me, a slow grin spreading on his lips. I didn’t like this smile, it made tingling shivers travel down my back.

“So”, I said, hoping to definitely change the subject. “Pizza tonight?”

Thor and Loki shared a look and the latter asked with a raised eyebrow: “Are we watching _Star Trek_?”

“Duh! Of course. I can’t wait for Thor to see his earthly doppelganger”, I answered.

Finally, Loki stood up and, being strangely helpful, handed me the groceries as I put them away in the kitchen. While watching him from the corner of my eyes, I couldn’t forget how bitter he had sounded when he had told his brother that I couldn’t stand him. If anyone had asked me about it yesterday morning, I would have agreed. But after last night, I wasn’t sure anymore. Was Thor right? Was Loki really growing on me? Only time would tell. But that night, sitting between the two brothers and having fun watching TV, I realized something…

Loki had genuinely laughed more in the last 24 hours than since I had known him. And I decided I loved that sound. Maybe I wasn’t the only one starting to get used to the other…


	8. The Date

**Chapter Seven: The Date**

                Thor stayed the night, sleeping on the couch and we spent the entire Saturday in the flat watching TV, playing video games (where I crushed them at _Mario Cart_ , earning an impressed look from Thor and a frown from Loki) and having fun. When Thor left after diner, I felt more comfortable around Loki than ever. We went in our separated rooms for the evening with a simple “goodnight” and a little wave on my part and I slept very well for the first time since he had moved in.

                On Sunday morning, I was anxious, not because of Loki, but because I was about to go on my first real date with Kennan. We had shared meals and all, but it wasn’t the same. This diner would have a totally different meaning. We were on the premise of a real relationship and that scared the crap out of me. My previous romantic involvements had all turned to shit so quickly I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive. I really liked Kennan. I wanted him to be my boyfriend. I was nearly 26 for Christsake. It was time for me to be in a real relationship.

Loki watched me fidget around the kitchen that morning and when I nearly burnt the first bunch of pancakes, he nudged me to the side and took care of the cooking. With raised eyebrows, I let him do it and sat on the counter with the biggest cup of coffee. 

“Am I so infamously distracting that you’re unable to make breakfast?” Asked Loki. His back was turned, but I was sure he was smiling.

“It’s not you, smug prat”, I said with a roll of my eyes.

He turned around, not even commenting on my insult and handed me a plate of perfectly cooked pancakes. When I gave him a surprised look, Loki grinned: “I told you I could take care of myself.”

“I would wait until I have at least tasted them before gloating, if I were you”.

But at the first bite, I let out an ungratified moan.  It was heavenly, moist and golden and perfect.

His eyes screamed _“I told you so”_ without him needing to say anything and I just accepted my defeat, eating my breakfast with gusto. I only realized I was maybe acting a little too casually when I liked my fingers while making little happy noises. I suddenly caught Loki’s eyes and they were far too intense for a Sunday morning.  I blushed and felt the need to clear my throat to dissolve the tension.

“So, why are you so nervous? If my mere presence isn’t the real cause of your distracted mind, of course”, inquired Loki with his usual modesty.

_Was it too early in the morning to kick him in the nuts?_

“You’re not. And that’s none of your business”, I answered, sending him a glare.

“If your absentmindedness cause you to burn my food, than it is definitely _my_ business” Loki retorted, never losing his wolfish smile.

_Was he programmed to have a clever answer to everything? He was so infuriating!_

“Fine”, I sighed. “But you’ll probably find it trivial and far too unworthy of your mighty ears.” My mocking tone didn’t escape him, because he lost his smile and his face darkened.

He was obviously making an effort to remain civil and I was genuinely surprised by his sudden constraint. “I am, however, listening.”

If he was willing to be cordial, the least I could do was to indulge him.

“If you really want to know, I’ve a date this evening and I’m a little on edge about the whole thing”, I finally gave up.

I had been expecting Loki to glare at me in disdain but he actually just frowned and leant into the counter, facing me fully.

“By date, I guess you mean a romantic interlude. Why are you nervous? Is the gentleman not worthy?”

I couldn’t believe I was actually talking about my love life with _Loki_ , of all people! But at least he was an impartial party and maybe he could give me useful advices. He wouldn’t sugarcoat anything, like my Dad or Steve would do.

“No, he’s great. He’s an Asgardian, actually. Kennan. Maybe you know him? The main problem is that I’m kind of rusty in the whole _date_ department. And I don’t want to ruin everything by my… absentmindedness, as you put it.” I explained.

Loki straighten up, his face far too serious for such a trivial conversation. _Was he smug and mighty in all aspects of the life?_

“If we are talking about the same Kennan, than he isn’t worthy of your anxiousness. Even if you’re too short and have far too many freckles, you’re too good for him. Hell, a troll would be too good for him”, said Loki, a new smile appearing on his lips.

“Did you just compare me to a troll? And… what’s wrong with my freckles?” I shouted.

I knew he had probably tried to give me a compliment, but he had such a shitty way of doing it that he might just have insulted me instead.

Loki walked around the counter and stopped only inches from me. In a swift wave of his hand, he took my glasses off of my face. Staring at my nose and cheeks, he answered: “They make you look like an infant. But maybe that is the reason why Kennan is courting you. He has always fancied his women young and gullible.”

I wanted to punch him in his perfect face so much my fist cracked. And why was he still smiling as if he had just tried to comfort me?

Standing up, I tried to get my glasses back, but Loki raised his hand above his head, putting them out of my reach. I was literally boiling with anger.

“You listen to me, you smug prat! I’m as gullible as Spock and for the last time, I’m 25 years old, I’m not a child!”

Loki stared at me, remaining silent for a moment before saying: “I think you’re far more gullible than Spock and…” I cut him by storming out of the kitchen. I couldn’t believe this was the only thing he had caught about what I had just said.

Fuming with frustration, I was seconds from going to hide in my room when a hand suddenly took mine and stopped me. Turning toward Loki with a murdering glare, I crossed my arms on my chest, wrenching my fingers from his.

“Come on, Freckles, I was only joking”, he said with a wide grin.

“That was NOT funny. AT ALL!”

He couldn’t know that, but I hated my freckles and I knew they made me look juvenile. Using them to make fun of me was the cruelest thing he could have done. It brought me back years ago, before Tony, when classmates used to make my life a living hell…

Loki must have realized that he had genuinely upset me when his smile disappeared. For the first time, he actually acted like a decent human being (or Asgardian… whatever) when he took a prudent step towards me. As if he was afraid I would bolt, he raised his hands to my face very slowly, and gently put my glasses back on my nose. Then, I felt his thumb graze the sensitive skin under my chin, urging me to look him in the eyes. This unexpected intimate contact made me shiver.

“I personally think your freckles are quite appealing. They look like constellations.” He whispered, his breath caressing my lips.

_Whoa, that was strangely thoughtful and… poetic._

I stayed speechless, his too green eyes mapping my face, a slow and sweet smile brightening his features. My mouth left dry and my heart went a little wild. I had to do something to break the growing tension between us.

_Right. Fucking. Now!_

“You really don’t like Kennan?” I heard myself ask, not really knowing where it had come from. For once, my mouth was saving me while my brain acted like mush.

“No”, simply answered Loki.

And with that, the argument was over. Like a zombie, I followed him back to the kitchen and finished my breakfast, slowly regaining my composure.

_Those green eyes had secret powers, I was sure of it…_

                We didn’t talk about the date or Kennan for the rest of the day, where I taught him how to play several board games such as Monopoly (where Loki beat me to no end) and Clue (where I won, even if he tried to cheat). One hour before my date, I left Loki in the living room with a book ( _The Lord of the Ring – The Fellowship of the Ring_ , because he needed to expend his pop culture knowledge) and started to get ready. I didn’t know what to wear, so I opted for something casual but still classy and put on just enough make up to highlight my eyes and lips without looking like I was trying too much ( _God, I’d watched far too many romantic comedies…_ ).

When I got out of my room, a few minutes before Kennan was supposed to come pick me up, I didn’t found Loki on the couch. Hearing some noises in the kitchen, I went there and smiled when I saw he was boiling water. He had become quite good at the art of making pasta.

“All set, Freckles?” He asked me without even turning around.

“Is this going to be my new nickname from now on?” I answered.

I should hate it, but coming from Loki and after what he had told me about my freckles reminding him of constellations, I didn’t mind it that much. I’m sure it had something to do with his too green eyes. They were magic.

Turning to face me, he only smiled and lifted an eyebrow when he saw me all dolled up. “Maybe…”

_Again with his “maybes”…_

I shook my head in faint annoyance and despite my better judgment, I waited for his approval on my choice of dress. But he said nothing, he just stared at me from head to toe, making me feel vulnerable and naked. I was about to say something really stupid when ( _thank God!_ ), someone knocked at the door.

Kennan.

“So… see you tomorrow, Mischief?” The nickname had come naturally and… why did it sounded like a question? Was I expecting him to wait up for me so that we could debrief my date, eating ice cream? Who was I kidding? He wasn’t Steve…

Loki only raised an eyebrow but said nothing, turning back to his pasta.

_Okay…_ Why was he so cold all of the sudden?

Walking to the door, I was ready to open it when I heard him shout: “If he tries anything, kick him in the crotch, Freckles.”

And that made me smile like a loon.

                Kennan was the perfect gentleman. When he saw me pass the threshold, he bowed and kissed my hand, calling me “my lady”. It was a little cheesy but I loved it. No man on Earth acted like this anymore. He offered me his arm as we walked to the cafeteria. It wasn’t the most private and romantic place to have dinner, but the Asgardians were forbidden to leave the compound so, we didn’t have many other choices.  Kennan chose a table far from anyone else and pulled my chair for me. He asked me what I wanted to eat and went to get our food. Once he was sitting in front of me, I realized I had been a fool to stress over this date. I felt really good now. Kennan was so easy to talk to…

“So, Zach, how have you been these past few days?” He asked, taking my hand that laid on the table.

I blushed. Loki was wrong. Kennan was attentive and thoughtful.

“I’ve been working on my latest project of food synthetizer, like I told you before and yesterday I enjoyed a quiet time at home, doing nothing, just relaxing”, I answered.

_And had a great time with your Kings_ … but I wasn’t about to say this. I would eventually tell him about my bond with the Odinsons, but it was far too early in our relationship for that. I had always been careful about revealing too much about myself with the guys I had dated. Living with a bunch of superheroes had turned me a little paranoid, I think.

We talked about ourselves a little more. I told him about my dead mother, but didn’t say who my father was. When I mentioned my difficult childhood, his fingers tightened around mine in understanding. I felt my heart flutter a little. He was such a sweetheart…

I learned that Kennan was an only child as well and had grown up in a loving family. His parents had unfortunately died too soon, but being old members of the royal court, he had been taken care of. He used to work at Odin’s palace as a hunter and missed going outside.

“I think the thing I miss the most is being able to see the sky whenever I want”, he confided while we were eating dessert.

“That can be arranged”, I offered. “I can give you access to the garden anytime you want”.

“You would do that for me?” Kennan asked with such hope in his hazel eyes I had to smile.

“Yes, of course”.

As a thank you, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it fervently. I blushed. From the corner of my eyes, I saw that someone was watching us. Turning my face slightly to the side, I discovered it was the beautiful dark skinned woman who Thor had brought back from Sakaar.

I remembered her name was Val. I had seen her often around the compound and she usually had been accompanied by Thor or Heimdall. But I had never talked to her before. Why was she watching me with such a cold stare? But then, I realized that she wasn’t really glaring at me, but at Kennan’s back. Did they know each other?

Like if she had sensed my eyes on her, Val turned her attention to me and raised a smug eyebrow. From afar, we started a staring match that only ended when she stood up and suddenly walked to our table.

Kennan, who hadn’t noticed my drifting attention, kept on talking until Val put a hand on his shoulder. I watched, surprised, as he turned to her and lost his easy smile. His face became white.

“Good evening, Kennan”, she said with an unpleasantly sweet voice.

“V… Val”, he mumbled, visibly uncomfortable.

They stared at each other in silence until Val’s dark eyes turned towards me. “You’re not introducing me to your sweet companion?” She inquired with a smile that was far too wide to be natural.

She was oozing repressed anger and I suddenly felt like I was intruding.

Kennan stayed silent, so I raised my hand and said: “I’m Zacharie. You’re Val, right?”

She lost her honeyed smile and straightened up as if she had only just recognized me.  

Had Thor told her who I really was? I knew he trusted her with his life, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had.

My heartbeat quicken in panic when I actually saw recognition in her eyes. If she told anything about my relationship with the Avengers in front of Kennan, it would be catastrophic. To begin a relationship with lies and omissions wasn’t a great idea, but I wanted to at least wait after our first kiss to unleash the Kraken that was my life on Kennan’s lap.

When Val opened her mouth, I suddenly stood up and said: “We better get going. Kennan, would you walk me back to my room, please? Val, have a good evening.”

On this, I pulled at my date’s hand and ushered him out of the cafeteria as fast as possible. When I glanced back, I saw that Val was watching us with a frown, but didn’t seem to plan on following us. Letting out a little sigh of relief, I turned to Kennan and realized he was as thankful as I was to be away from her.

“Thank you for getting me out of this woman claws”, he exhaled. “She’s been acting very aggressively since I turned her advances down.”

“She fancies you?” I asked.

“Back on the ship, we did share common quarters for a few days and she has made her interests… quite obvious”, explained Kennan as we walked through the corridors.

This description didn’t really resemble the one Thor had made of Val, but I guessed that spending years in a place like Sakaar could take a toll on someone’s behavior.

“If she’s really troubling you, I could ask Mister Stark to…”

“No”, Kennan interrupted me with a little smile. “Don’t worry, I think that seeing us together tonight has finally made her understand that I’m not interested.”

I nodded, still a little startled by my first meeting with the great and mighty Valkyrie and followed Kennan through the corridors.  When we stopped at my door, all thoughts about Val vanished to be replaced by a hectic feeling.

My heart beat faster and I felt my cheeks burn. _Was he going to kiss me?_

But I didn’t have to ask myself this question for long, because I barely had the time to turn toward him before he took my face between his hands and pressed our mouth together. His lips were a little dry, but I didn’t really mind. I put my arms around his wide shoulders and he deepen the kiss, his tongue seeking passage into my mouth. I felt a little elated, but not near enough to miss his hands roaming hungrily to my lower back. When he took my butt in a determined grip and started to rub our lower bodies together, I heard a little red alarm blurt in my ears.

_Whoa, easy tiger!_ I wasn’t a prude, but it was a little forward for a first date.

I pushed him back and he stepped away, his pupils wide and his breath short. I gave him an apologetic smile and he lean gently forward, just resting his forehead against mine.

“Sorry”, he soughed. “But you’re so beautiful…”

I was so pleased and flattered that my whole body warmed up in a flash. We kissed a little more and Kennan made me promise to have lunch with him the next day. After that, he wished me a very good night and left. Giddy to the point of wanting to dance around and sing, I opened the door and went in.

“Freckles?” I heard Loki call.

Probably still smiling like a loon, I joined him in the living room where he was watching what seemed to be a documentary on oceanic life. When I fell gracelessly on the couch next to him, Loki lifted an eyebrow.

“From your idiotic grin, I guess that your _date_ went well”, he said with a sardonic smile.

I gave him a little tap on the arm. “Don’t spoil my fun! And for your information, yes, it was great. Kennan isn’t at all what you described. He was very gallant and thoughtful, unlike some other guy I won’t name.”

My sideway glance spoke volumes, but Loki only shrugged.

“I never said he couldn’t be charming. That’s his only attractive feature, actually”, he answered. “I really don’t see what women found so fascinating about him. I personally think he’s dull and stupid.”

I rolled my eyes at that. “You’re just jealous because he’s so much more charming than you”, I teased.

“I’m charming!” Loki retorted, outraged. “But only to the people who are worthy.”

“So, does this mean I’m not worthy enough?” I asked, stealing popcorn from the bucket that rested on his lap.

He gave me the stink eye and put the snack away from my grasp. “Trust me, if I wanted to be dislikable to you, you would know.”

“Then we have a very different definition of the words ‘ _charming_ ’ and ‘ _likable’_ , Mischief”, I snorted, wrestling with him to get to the popcorn.  Loki didn’t seem to mind his new nickname so I decided to keep it.

We fought over the bucket of sweets until I grabbed a handful of it and threw them at Loki’s face. He immediately froze and glared at me with a smug pout. He looked so ridiculous with popcorns scattered in his hairs, trying to stay as haughty as usual, that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I was in a very good mood tonight, feeling playful and elated.

“Stop wasting my food… stop laughing… you’re ridiculous, Freckles”, groaned Loki.

But I kept on laughing and he shook his head at my silliness.

_Yes, I had a really good date._


	9. Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back! Just a little note to tell you this story has become far longer then what I was expecting. I think in the end, it will contain at least 25 chapters.
> 
> But, for now, enjoy this new one.
> 
> Happy reading!

**Chapter Eight: Invasion**

                After only a few weeks on Earth, I was feeling like my entire life had been invaded by Asgardians. On Monday, I worked all day on many of my projects and had lunch with Kennan. When we split up to get on with our respective duties, we shared a sweet kiss. I was wondering if it was too early to call him my boyfriend…

Thor came to dine with Loki, and I decided to spend the evening with my Dad and Uncle Jim. He was still wobbly on his quite new robotic legs, but it warmed my heart to see him walk again. I had been so worried about him when I had received a call from my father to ask me to join him at the hospital, a year ago. I had stayed hours at Jim’s bedside, trying to entertain him. But now, he was really better and I was glad for it.

What is now called the “ _Civil War_ ” between the Avengers had had such devastating consequences on so many lives…

Tuesday was different. Loki and I had just had a little bicker over breakfast (him complaining _again_ about not being able to go outside), so, when I saw Thor talking with Heimdall on my way to the lab, I went straight for him.

“Thor?” I called.

He turned around and smiled when he recognized me, but lost it as soon as he saw my probably stormy face.

“What has he done again?” He immediately asked with a frown.

I glanced at Heimdall, not knowing if I could talk freely in front of him. I knew he was _all seeing_ and stuff, but maybe Thor hadn’t told him about my cohabitation with Loki. The black skinned Asgardian had a very unnerving gaze. His golden and intense eyes were fixed on me, his face remaining emotionless. It was like he could see right through my soul.

“Heimdall knows about Loki’s whereabouts. You can talk in front of him”, assured Thor.

Wrenching my eyes from the former Bifrost’s guardian, I felt my irritation come back with a vengeance.

“When are you going to find a new place for him? I don’t think I’ll be able to bear having him around for long. He can be so frustrating… so insufferable!” I whispered, seeing people were looking at us strangely.

“Maybe we should talk about this in a more private setting”, offered Heimdall. And I agreed.

I ushered them to my private lab, not too far from here and as soon as I had closed the door, I let my anger explode.

“This morning, he put salt on my pancakes, on purpose, and went to mope in his room like a bloody toddler, leaving me to clean up the awful mess he had made in the kitchen, just because I didn’t want to budge when he threw a tantrum. And he nearly broke my TV last night because the reception was wobbly. I know it sounds trivial, but all those little things put together with so many others; like the fact that he takes forever in the shower, makes me want to… shake him and punch him in the nose!”

I had to take a deep breath after that. Loki had the capacity to make my blood boil with so much frustration! This much stress couldn’t be good for my heart. I was sure an early ulcer was right around the corner…

Thor appeared before me and gently took me by the shoulders. “Calm down, munchkin. I’m trying to find a better solution, but there is no room available and I can’t ask your father for more without risking to make him suspicious. But I’ll find a way, I promise”, he soothed.

I finally managed to calm myself. Looking into Thor clear and fond blue eye had always been a great stress reliever.

“Okay”, I agreed. “Okay, I’ll wait a little more.”

“You know now how I felt living with him for a thousand years…” said Thor with a teasing smile.

“Oh my God! It’s a miracle you didn’t kill him or became insane”, I laughed.

All remaining anger definitely leaving me, I gave my friend a little grin.

“My King, could I talk to this young lady in private?” Suddenly asked Heimdall.

We both turned towards him with wide eyes. Why would the seer want to talk to little insignificant me of all people? Thor nodded with a frown, meaning they would talk about it later and, after giving me a little pat on the shoulder, he left the room.

Once I was alone with Heimdall, I felt wildly uncomfortable. I knew Thor trusted him and that I wasn’t in any danger, but I remained anxious. His powers were mysterious and unlimited. What could he see when he was looking at me?

Putting an end to my personal debate, Heimdall, is golden eyes never leaving mine, said: “You, Zacharie Stark, need to be careful.”

_Well, that wasn’t cryptic at all…_

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown.

“Your fate is clouded. You are surrounded by lies, but you have so many possible outcomes in your future”, he answered, the intensity of his eyes and voice making me shiver.

“I don’t believe in fate. I think every man has to create his own destiny”, I replied, feeling something cold crawl under my skin.

“And you are right, in some level. You can choose what future will be yours, but you’ll have to be wise. All your possible fates are essential. You are, essential.”

 _What the hell was he talking about?_ Me, essential? He must be mistaking me for someone else. I didn’t have powers, I wasn’t an Inhuman or an Avenger. I was… just me.

“You’re wrong, buddy. I’m nobody”, I stated.

I had to take a step back, rapt by his growing and overwhelming presence.

“No. You are important. You can change the course of the upcoming war of infinity”, he said with a little smile.

That brightened his imperious face and made him look more approachable, less… godly. But what he was saying wasn’t making any sense. Maybe the loss of Asgard had numbed his powers…  Because seeing me as an important part of anything concerning any “ _Infinity War_ ” was preposterous.

He was starting to really scare me and he must have sensed it, because he took a step back as well.

“You’re not ready yet. But remember that lies are never the answer. You must learn to see through them”, he finally concluded.

And with a mighty nod, he walked out of my lab. Once I was alone, I let out a little hysterical laugh.

_That guy was batshit crazy!_

                I had a lot of trouble focusing on anything that day and when I joined Kennan for our planned walk in the gardens after lunch, I still felt distracted.

“You seem troubled”, noticed Kennan, his fingers squeezing our joined hands while we roamed across the trees.

“Sorry”, I apologized. “Do you… do you know Heimdall?”

I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to try and find out more about the seer.

“Only in passing. He’s not really the social type. Why?” Asked Kennan.

His interest was genuine and his face devoid of any mischief. That was a nice change from my sneaky roommate.

“He has told me some pretty crazy things earlier and I can’t get them out of my head”, I admitted.

That made him laugh. “Don’t worry, Zach. Heimdall makes everyone feel a little uncomfortable. He once told me I would meet my downfall hunting the wrong prey. But I’m still alive and well. Don’t take his prophecies too seriously.”

I felt relieved by that. Maybe I had given his cryptic words too much weight. Finding it far easier to smile and focus on my handsome date now, I thanked him with a little kiss.

“What are paramours for, if not comforting one another in times of need?” Kennan said, holding me tight.

“Paramours, eh? That’s a fancy word. On Earth, we just call them boyfriends or girlfriends”.

My heart was beating a little faster now.

“So, does that make me your boyfriend?” He asked with a glint in his hazel eyes.

“Maybe”, I answered.

_God, I was spending far too much time with Loki…_

To put an end to this annoying realization, I kissed Kennan.

 _I had a boyfriend!_ And that thought supplanted all worries about Heimdall prophetic sayings.               

                I saw Thor later that week and when he asked me what Heimdall and I had talked about, I only snorted and changed the subject. I didn’t want to talk about this nonsense anymore. He told me Loki had been asking about his future new place as well and I couldn’t help but snigger.

_Ungrateful prat!_

But I guessed it was only fair, seeing I couldn’t wait to be rid of him either.

The rest of the week was normal (as normal as my life could be, living with the God of Mischief and being Iron Man’s daughter), until I came back home after another date with Kennan on Friday evening. We had spent our time in the gardens, using the biggest weeping willow to hide ourselves and fool around like teenagers. I had noticed that Kennan had started to get handsier with me, his fingers grasping my skin and sneaking their way under my clothes. I should have found it flattering, it proved he wanted me, but it had been such a long time since I had had any sexual encounters that I felt a little startled by his obvious desire. Lately, anything was an excuse to make out. We barely talked anymore. I guessed it was maybe time to push our relationship forward…  Nevertheless, as I was walking home, I realized that I wasn’t ready yet. There was something that held me back around Kennan and I couldn’t put my finger on it. But it was nagging me enough to stop me from trusting him completely.

Maybe I was just being paranoid… _God, my Dad had finally turned me into a mini him…_

It was pretty late when I opened the door, so I had hoped that Loki would be already in his room. But when I walked into the living room, I saw him sitting on the couch, reading a book. Things had quieted down between us since Tuesday, Thor probably being the cause of Loki’s milder demeanor, and there were times when we really acted like roommates. But there was always a lingering trace of mistrust I couldn’t shake.

“Hi”, I said with a little smile.

Loki only nodded and got back to his book. When I saw the cover, I couldn’t help but ask: “You’ve already finished _The Two Towers_?”

He was a fast reader, but I guessed that for someone who spent all his days at home, even a massive tome like _The Lord of the Rings_ would be quickly devoured.

He lifted his gaze toward me and closed the book. I took it as an invitation and joined him on the couch.

“It’s quite enthralling”, he admitted. “And Gollum’s obsession with the Ring reminds me of Thor’s relationship with his hammer”.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his teasing smile.

“You must be exaggerating”.

“Trust me, I don’t”. Loki straightened up and his face brightened in amusement. “You’ve never seen him clean it when we were in Asgard. He even talked to it, as if it was a living thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had slept with it in his bed and called him “My precious’ when nobody else was around.”

I burst out laughing because, yes, I could honestly picture it. Not for the first time, I wondered how I could sometimes feel that much at ease around Loki, and sometimes dread his very presence. We were walking on very thin ice and the duality in our relationship was unnerving. It upset me a lot and maybe it was time to put an end to it.

Despite his occasional bad-temper and sneakiness, Loki wasn’t the utter villain I had been afraid he would be. He was acting relatively civil for the embodiment of Mischief. I was maybe being too hard on him. If we were doomed to cohabit, I had to at least try to trust him a little bit. After all, he had never tried to hurt me and apart from his distasteful manipulation from last week, Loki had been pretty decent so far.

“Loki”, I started, unable to look at him right now. “I know we both aren’t really happy about this all ‘ _living together’_ arrangement. But, if we have to be stuck in the same flat for a little while longer, than maybe we should try to make things easier between us.”

I dared to search his eyes, excepting to find distrust or resentment, but he was actually watching me with genuine interest.

“What are you suggesting, Freckles?” He asked.

The nickname was back and it made me smile.

 _Okay, he was ready to make compromises_. That was a good thing.

“First, we need to learn to trust each other, or at least to try. I promise I’ll never do anything to jeopardize your safety if you do the same”, I offered.

Loki only nodded, urging me on.

“Okay. Then, please stop using me as a punching ball for all your frustration. I know this situation isn’t ideal, but it’s only temporary and one day, soon, you’ll be free to roam the Earth as much as you want.”

I couldn’t really hope for someone like Loki to apologize to me, but the little cloud of shame that I saw passing in his eyes was enough to convince me he had understood. For now, at least.

“In returns, I will do my best to make you feel welcome.”

“What do you mean by _welcome_?” Loki asked, his mischievous smile back on his too handsome face.

His eyes were implying so many naughty things, I felt my cheeks burn.

“Nothing like that!” I retorted vehemently, pushing the little meltdown that was happening in my lower body far, far away.

I guessed I couldn’t have hoped for more coming from him. He didn’t seem to be able to keep things serious for more than five minutes.

“So, roommates, Mischief?” I suggested, holding out my hand between us.

Loki, never losing his wolfish smile, took my fingers and grasped them delicately.

“Roommates”, he agreed.

Wrenching my hand back as fast as possible, not really loving the little sparkle of heat that had traveled up my arm, I cleared my throat. A nagging voice in my head found funny to point out that when Kennan touched my naked skin, it didn’t make me feel as feverish as when Loki did…

_WTF brain? Would you kindly shut the fuck up, please?_

Pushing this very annoying thought out of my mind with a virulent kick in the ass, I just smiled at Loki, happy we had come to an agreement. If my entire life was now looking like an Asgardian invasion, the least I could do was try to make the most of it.

                After that day, Loki and I developed a strange kind of routine. On our fourth week of cohabitation, we usually woke up at the same hour, fought over the bathroom and cooked breakfast together. And most of the time, we really enjoyed each other’s company. When he wasn’t being an insufferable prat, Loki was really funny. He had the unnerving skill to always find enjoyment, even in the direst things. He was cocky, really knew how to be awfully charming and was very quick-witted. When Thor came to eat with us, he usually walked on a passionate verbal match. Most of our jousting ended with Loki saying that I was too ridiculous and me calling him a poor loser or a smug prat. But, despite our daily bickering, we always found ourselves face to face in front of a huge breakfast in the morning.

I couldn’t help the fact I was beginning to really like living with Loki and that our now usual banter were making my days brighter.

For lunch, I usually ate with Kennan or my Dad, leaving Thor and his brother alone in my flat. After work, when I wasn’t overbooked with the compound unpredictable issues, Loki and I would spend our evening on the couch watching a movie or/and a TV show. We both were really enthusiastic spectators, so it was usual that our viewings were interspersed with shouts or laughter. When I cried like a baby while watching _The Notebook_ ( _which Loki had wanted to watch, not me!),_ he snorted at me so much that I hit him square in the face with a pillow. He wasn’t happy about it and soon started to throw popcorns at me. We ended up having an epic food fight and I had to threaten Loki to destroy the rest of the chocolate cake I had baked to finally make him stop.

Like the secret little geek he was at heart, Loki became obsessed with _Harry Potter_. He insisted on reading the books beforehand ( _I wouldn’t have agreed on showing him the movies otherwise anyway_ …) and we spent hours talking about insanely detailed subjects about this universe. Without surprise, Loki’s favorite character was Snape. I would have laughed at his face when I saw him sniffle moistly when we watched his death in the last movie… if I hadn’t been two seconds from crying myself. He also really identified with Draco Malfoy and I had to roll my eyes at that. Obviously the smug bastard would like the haughtiest of the Harry Potter’s characters.

Like with Steve, Loki and I grew used to leave each other little post-its everywhere in the apartment: inside the fridge, when he didn’t want me to eat the leftovers or when I forbade him to drink all the milk ( _not that he ever listened to me…_ ) or in the shower, when I realized that he had been using my conditioner and I nicely asked him to _keep his grabby hands off of my beauty products!_ Once, Loki even put one on the bathroom mirror to remind me to buy toothpaste…

He had established that we would use a color code, he would write on the green post-its ( _figures…_ ), deciding I would use the pink ones. The very important stuff would be coded in blue. We used so many of them that I had to sneak into the office supply cupboard to steal more. I crossed path with Eric Selvig once and he watched me with curious eyes as I passed him with a shitload of post-its in my arms, trying to act casual.

All of this to say that we weren’t exactly friends… yet. But we were slowly but surely getting there.

Loki being a neat freak, we quickly decided to clean the apartment at least twice a week, usually on Wednesday and Sunday. I forced him to help me ( _I’m not your bloody maid, you prat!)_ and after the first time, where he complained all along, we worked in relative harmony. I liked listening to music while doing housework, but Loki and I didn’t have the same taste and often argued about the playlist. He enjoyed rock and old-school bands and I was fond of pop. We finally found an arrangement and decided to listen to a little bit of everything, after I had bribed him with food, obviously.

The first time he heard _Bad Romance_ , from Lady Gaga and saw me dance my head off while yelling the lyrics, Loki stated that I was downright crazy and left the room.

But, after hearing it several time, I was surprised to see him tap his foot in rhythm.

“Are you starting to like Lady Gaga, Mischief?” I asked him one Sunday afternoon, with a little mocking smile.

Caught in the act, Loki glanced at me with utter distain. But I was certain that I had seen him. I was used to looking ridiculous in front of him, so I didn’t even think about it twice when I approached him, swaying my hips in rhythm.

“Come on, no need to deny it. We all fall under Gaga’s spell after a while”.

His eyes widened in surprise before he snorted at me, turning away and keeping on washing the kitchen counter. I knew I was being silly, but I was having fun and I wanted to be dumb and young for a moment. So, I stood next to him, dancing, my hips bumping into his every now and then until I finally took his hand and forced him to face me. Loki came willingly, letting go of the cleaning cloth and simply watched me with growing amusement. I knew he was going to break when a smile lifted the corner of his mouth.

“You are ridiculous, Freckles”, he told me, maybe for the hundred’s time.

It was beginning to sound more like a fond observation than a reprimand.

“Maybe”, I said before mouthing the lyrics and jumping up and down before him.

Finally, with a roll of his eyes, he gave up on pretending and started to dance as well. I was agreeably surprised by the wriggle of his hips.

_Damned, the guy could move!_

It was… kind of hot and utterly unfair. He looked good even when he was supposed to be dancing like a moron on cheesy pop music. More than a little dazed, I let out a startled giggle when Loki used our still joined hands to make me swirl under his outstretched arm.

We had tremendous fun.

Dancing on Lady Gaga became kind of our thing and it was in the middle of one of our best and most memorable performance that Thor walked in on us and had the biggest fit of laughter I had ever seen. For a second, I thought we had broken him and that he would never recover.

                But the Asgardian invasion in my life didn’t just stop there. Just after a pretty heavy make out cession with Kennan in the gardens one evening ( _where he went to second base and more_ ), I was on my way home to watch the cinematic adaptation of _The Lord of the Rings_ with Loki when I came across Val in the corridors. From what I was seeing, she had just come out of Heimdall’s quarters.

_Strange…_

I had barely seen her since our encounter in the cafeteria a few weeks ago and to be honest, I had never really sought her out. I had the feeling she didn’t really like me, her dark eyes always glaring my way when we crossed path in the common area of the facilities. I had asked Loki about her, who knew Val quite well after their adventure on Sakaar and their long travel through space, but he had only good things to say about her. According to him, she was a great warrior with a heavy past but was quite fun to be around. He had also revealed that she was an adapt boozer, having beaten him several time at various drinking contests. I remembered when he had told me about a time she had actually won against the entire crew.

So, this evening, as usual, when we crossed path, I just gave her a shy smile and walked on. But Val actually called my name and stopped beside me. I faced her, surprised.

“Do you have a moment? Can we talk?” She asked me, her face far more amicable than usual.

Deciding that Loki could wait a little bit longer, I agreed and followed her to her own quarters, not too far from here. She invited me in and my eyes widen when I saw the state of her room. I thought I was messy, but facing the chaos around me, I realized I was actually a neat freak compared to her. Clothes and diverse personal belongings and weapons were scattered all around in messy heaps. She gave me an awkward little smile when she saw my reaction and took the sword that was laying on the armchair so I could sit. She put it on the ground before taking place on the couch before me. Not really knowing what to do or say, I played with my fingers, uncomfortable.

“I…I wanted to apologize about the way I introduced myself a few weeks back. I was having a very bad day and I think I gave you the worst first impression ever”, she started, obviously not really relaxed herself.

I couldn’t deny it, so I just shrugged. “It’s okay. We all have our mood swings, I guess”.

“Thor told me you were seeing Kennan and that you cohabited with Loki. You really know how to choose your men”, she said, probably trying to make a joke and ease the tension.

But I frowned at that. What was wrong with _my men_ , as she had called them? Loki was a pain in the ass, yes, but I thought he was her friend as well and Kennan… I didn’t want to talk about him with her, of all people, given their shared past.

“What are you implying, exactly?” I asked, a little on my guard.

“Just that you appear to have very strange taste in man”, she answered. She was still smiling, but I didn’t find it funny at all.

_Who was she to give me relationship advices? I didn’t know her!_

“I’m sorry, but I don’t see how it’s any of your business,” I replied, growing more and more annoyed.

Val finally got that I wasn’t happy and lifted an imperious eyebrow.

“Listen, Thor and I are friends, and I know he cares for you, but he’s a little blinded when it comes to his brother. I just wanted to make sure you were careful. Thor asked me to keep an eye on you with Kennan as well. You see, he doesn’t trust him, and…”

I had had enough of this. I was a grown woman, perfectly able to judge people for myself and I didn’t need Val’s or anyone’s protection. _I was so going to kill Thor…_

“Listen, Val”, I interrupted, getting on my feet. “Maybe you’re only trying to help, but I don’t need nor want it. I happen to be a pretty good judge of character, so if you have nothing else to say, I think we are done here.”

Her face immediately darkened and she stood up to take a step toward me.

“You’re wrong and if you’re not careful, your heart won’t be the only thing that will break”, she threatened.

“Bring it on, girl”, I said, standing my ground.

She maybe was a mighty Asgardian warrior, but I wasn’t afraid of her. She had no right getting involved in my life like this!

“We shall see, shall we”, Val replied with a mocking face. She was watching me as if I was dirt on her shoe now.

_What a bitch!_

With what I hoped to be an imperious face, I took my leave and slammed the door on my way out.

I couldn’t believe Thor had asked her to keep an eye on me. Sometimes, I really hated Asgardians… Walking back to my place, I put this very unpleasant encounter out of my mind and promised myself to have a _very long_ talk with the God of Thunder.

But it was only just beginning…


	10. The Art of Apologizing

**Chapter Nine: The Art of Apologizing**

                The next day, when Thor came to have breakfast with Loki and I, I screamed at him so much my voice was sore. He tried to explain that he had just wanted to protect me, but I made it abundantly clear that I didn’t need Val’s ( _who I despised, by the way_ ) or anyone’s protection. I noticed Loki looking at us from the corner of my eyes and saw his face go from surprise to amusement during our… conversation. I guessed he wasn’t used to watch his mighty brother being scolded by a little human with freckles and glasses. Thor yelled as well (he had quite the temper and broke one of my plate in the process), but after everything had been said and done, we blissfully sat together for breakfast as if nothing had had happened.

“Is this… a common thing of Earth?” Asked Loki, looking from Thor to me, his face back to surprise.

“What?” We both said at the same time, munching on pancakes.

“People screaming at each other and then acting like this is the most normal thing in the world”, he said with raised eyebrows.

I snorted in my coffee and Thor and I shared a conniving look.

“It is what a bicker between two friends looks like, Mischief”, I answered. “Once the evil is uprooted, there is no use to stay mad at one another.”

Thor laughed at his brother’s facial expression. It was like I had just talk gibberish.

“Oh, brother, you still have a lot to learn about the art of apologizing”, Thor said, putting a heavy hand on Loki’ shoulder.

But, a few days later, Loki found a way to prove him wrong…

                Loki was having a bad day. I knew it from the moment I laid eyes on him in the morning. First, he burned his pancakes and I had to come to the rescue of my kitchen utensils before he decided to break them in his rage. Then, he burned his tongue with his too hot tea and hit his toe against the counter.

“I hate this place!” He finally snapped when he entered to the living room. “I feel imprisoned in my own skin.”

I watched him pace from my place on the couch, where I was drinking my second coffee and checking my emails on my laptop.

“I know it must be frustrating. If you want, I could ask Thor to accompany you outside for a stroll”, I offered with what I hoped to be a funny smile.

It was supposed to be a little joke, but Loki wasn’t in the mood for anything today.

“I’m not a pet! I should be able to go anywhere I want!” He protested.

He looked like a petulant child and I couldn’t help but find him cute as hell. I understood that he felt trapped. I would be going insane myself if I had been forbidden to go out of my flat. But it wasn’t easy for Thor and I either. We all had to make the most of this strange situation. It was only a matter of compromises. I didn’t want to have this conversation again, but it was inevitable, it seemed. 

“We’re only trying to protect you, you know?” I reminded him gently, seeing Loki was still fidgeting.

“For the last time, I can take care of myself. And the fact that I can’t use my powers aggravate things. This place is really maddening”, he went on.

“It could be worst. At least our flat is better than a jail cell.”

My attempt at calming him didn’t succeed as I had hoped. Turning towards me, Loki threw a glare that rooted me on the spot.

“Barely”, he answered scornfully.

That made my blood boil in fury. Abandoning my laptop on the couch, I stood up and faced him angrily. “Are you serious right now?”

Loki looked around as if my ( _our!_ ) apartment was some kind of dump infested with cockroaches. “I can’t wait for Thor to find a more suitable arrangement for me.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I retorted: “If living here is so distasteful than I can offer you another alternative that would suit you perfectly.”

He lifted a smug eyebrow, intrigued. “And where would that be?”

What I answered was one of the rudest thing I had ever said in my life, but he had pissed me off. I was very proud of my flat. It was spacious and clean and very comfortable. Yes, it wasn’t some grand throne room made of marble and gold, but it was cozy and… perfect. I loved my flat!

_Don’t you dare insult my flat!_

His green eyes widening in shock, Loki’s whole face darkened with wrath and he took an angry step forward. “Insolent, silly little human, don’t antagonize me…” he threatened.

But I was so enraged that I saw red and cut his probably very scary monologue. “You listen to me, you ungrateful prat! I’ve had enough of your delusion of grandeur. I’m not to blame for your _oh so awful_ misfortune. You are! It all started when you banished your father to Earth and released your bloody sister, who destroyed Asgard. That’s your fault, not mine. I was only trying to help when I agreed to let your stay here, in my _very beautiful_ flat. I’m doing everything I can to make you feel welcome and entertain you, but if that’s not enough for you, your _fucking_ majesty, than you can go to hell! Go live in the streets for all I care! I’m done with your bullshit!”

I had to take a big breathe after that. That felt… really good to finally let go of all the frustration I had held back for more than a month now. Loki was glaring at me with murderous eyes and I detected a slight hint of hurt behind his rage. That gave me pause and kindled a spark of guilt in my chest. But it was too late now. And I was still fuming with furious adrenaline.

“I would rather live in a moldy dungeon than staying one more second here with you”, he answered with a mean sneer.

_Ouch… that hurt!_

I knew that my own words must have upset him too, but I could only focused on my own pain right now. His answer acted like a stab in my stomach and it cut my breath for a second. I really had though that Loki had genuinely started to like it here. We worked surprisingly well as roommates and I had come to really care for him.

_I thought we were friends…_

I could remember our movie nights and crazy geeky conversations and stupid dance off sessions and easy banter and I felt burning tears prickle the corner of my eyes.

Had Loki only been pretending all this time?

That realization broke something incredibly precious inside my chest and I felt a sizzling pain spread all over my frozen body.

“Fine!” I finally said, hurt and anger blending to create a very ugly mix. “That can be arranged.”

I refused to lower my gaze, so he probably saw the first tear that escaped my eyes, but I didn’t care. I would not give him the satisfaction of breaking our glaring match first. The corner of his jaw trembled and an angry vein twitched on his forehead. Something in his eyes shifted, but I didn’t have the chance to study it because he lowered his head and growled: “That’s settled then. Everywhere is better than here.”

“You won’t have to bear my company any longer”, I spat out before turning away and leaving the apartment in angry steps. I slammed the door behind me, the brutal noise giving me some kind of morbid satisfaction, before I heavily leaned back against it.

I was really crying now, raw sobs escaping my mouth and tears falling down freely. I felt like shit. How did I became so attached to such an asshole was beyond me, but it remained the truth.

I liked Loki and I was so disappointed… I had really thought he enjoyed having me around…

I needed to get some air. A stroll around the compound would do me good, I knew it. I stared to walk away when I realized I was still wearing my PJs.

_Crap…_

But I would definitely _NOT_ go back inside to change. Thinking for a moment, I decided to borrow some clothes in the training room, not too far from here. I really needed to breathe some fresh air and to take my mind off of Loki and his mighty shitness.

I was walking in the garden, still brooding on my depressed thoughts, when I saw a tall and familiar figure a few feet from me.

“Uncle Jim!” I called and I couldn’t help but smile when James Rhodes turned to me, his whole face brightening.

I joined him and put a kiss on his cheek. I made a face when his newly grown beard pricked my face.

“What, kiddo? You don’t like my new look?” He asked with a false frown.

Since he had been put on leave by the US Army after his accident, James had decided to give himself some slack. He had swapped his uniform for jeans and tee-shirts and had chosen to grow a beard.

“No”, I answered. “I love it. You look hot”.

That made him smile. He offered me his arm and we started to walk slowly around the garden. I knew he often took long walks now, to get used to his robotic legs.

“How are you, kiddo? You seem troubled”.

I guessed my gloomy mood couldn’t have escaped him for long. He knew me very well after all.

“It’s nothing… I…”, I tried to lie, but decided I could use my very wise uncle’s advices on friendship. After being my dad’s BFF for most of their life, he must own useful knowledge about arguments and ungratefulness.  “I had a fight with someone I thought was a friend. A big fight”, I started.

He lifted an eyebrow. “Is it with this Asgardian you’ve been seeing?” He asked.

“Kennan? No. Kennan is perfect”, ( _if you forget the fact he is becoming really pushy about intimacy lately, but I wasn’t about to talk about this with my uncle_ ). “It’s with another friend. We… we’ve been spending a lot of time together this last month and it’s hardly been a bed of roses every day, but I came to really care about them. Their quirk kind of made me like them even more. But today, we said really awful things to each other because of our respective temper and I… I’m afraid this is all over between us”, I explained.  

Just thinking about my fight with Loki made me want to cry again. I felt like a little girl, yearning for the comforting arms of her uncle. James must have sensed my despair because he stopped walking to take my face between his hands.

“You really seem to care a lot about this _friend_ ”, he said, emphasizing on the last word, like if he doubted my choice of word.

I didn’t have the energy to contradict him, so I just shrugged.

“I guess, yes. This fight has made me realized how much, actually. I never thought I would come to care for them like this. But it obvious they don’t feel the same way about me. It hurts, Uncle Jim.”

A single tear left my eyes and James took it with his thumb. I knew it sounded more like heartbreak than what it actually was, but I didn’t care. Talking about it helped, especially with someone impartial and wise like my uncle.

“If they don’t like you back, then they are imbeciles”, he said and that made me roll my eyes and smile a little. “Or maybe they feel as bad as you right now. If they really are your friend, they will. Leave it simmer down for a while and try to go talk to them again. Either you’ll make up for the better, or you’ll know they don’t deserve your friendship. But at least, you’ll know for sure where you stand.”

That was a great advice. I knew I had made the right choice confiding in him. I felt a little better now. My chest was still constricted and it still hurt, but I knew he was right. If Loki really couldn’t stand living with me anymore, than we would part ways ( _with me left sobbing on the floor, I knew it_ ), but at least I would know how he really felt about me. Better a clean break now than to keep living in lies and pretend. On the other hand, if we made up ( _which I was almost too afraid to hope_ ), then I would be able to call him a friend with certainty.

It would be the first real test in our relationship and it could only go two ways, no alternative, no turning back. Loki and I were on the verge of the point of no return and it scared the shit out of me. 

I thanked James and we resumed our walk.

When it became too cold outside, we went back to my Uncle’s quarters and drank hot coco. I felt better for most of the day, but in the middle of the afternoon, I knew I couldn’t escape my infamous roommate anymore. With a final advice from Uncle Jim ( _Breathe, Zach, for christsake_!), I dared to return to my apartment. I had decided to go hide in my room, giving us a little more time before facing each another.

_I had to prepare my speech, after all…_

When I opened the door very gently, hoping I would be able to reach my room without him noticing me, I saw that the living room was empty. And I would have succeeded in my quest, only if my nostrils hadn’t picked up the most delicious aroma, coming from the kitchen. It smelled like pastry and chocolate. Curiosity getting the best of me, I tiptoed to the only floodlight room in the flat and sneaked a peak. Loki was standing in front of the oven, his back turned and he was humming. When I recognized _Bad Romance_ , I had to sniffle a snort. Biting my lower lip to stop myself from laughing, I watched him bend over to check something inside the oven. That’s where the mouthwatering smell was coming from. Leaning against the doorframe, I tried not to stare at Loki’s glorious backside, hugged perfectly by the dark sweatpants he was wearing. And then, just over his shoulder, I saw what was baking.

“Are you making cookies?” My mouth blurred out against my better judgment.

_So much for going directly to my room undetected… bloody stomach!_

Loki turned toward me, startled. I was surprised when I saw him smile. Giving how angry he had been earlier, it was a huge change in demeanor. I couldn’t help but hope, my heart fluttering like a trapped butterfly.

_Butterfly… Oh Hell no! Not…_ But what he said next interrupted my hectic thoughts.

“Freckles! You’re home!” Loki blurted. “Wait a second.”

He faced the stove again and put some baking gloves on. He then took the batch of golden steaming cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter in front of me. Taking the gloves off, he just stared at me, silent.

_Home…_ The words rang in my ears as the most marvelous of songs. He had called my ( _our?_ ) flat, home.

My eyes went from his open face to the tray of baked goods (chocolate chip cookies with pecan nuts, my favorites) and I frowned.

Something light and elated ( _bloody butterflies_!) still flapping in my chest, I asked: “Did you bake them for me?”

Loki suddenly seemed really uncomfortable. He weaved a hand in his hairs and bit his lower lip. It was so unlike him to show any kind of weakness! It made him look more human in a way, less… smug. The only fact that he had agreed to let me see him this exposed answered my question.

He was sorry… and he had baked me cookies!

“I saw on the Internet that offering homemade food was a good way to express apologies, so I…”

He never finished his explanation because, one second, I was standing before him, and the next, I was hugging him. Nobody had ever done something that sweet for me before. And the fact that it was coming from Loki of all people, moved me beyond measure. I felt him stand frozen against me at first. Then, slowly, he brought his arms around my body and hugged me back, one of his hands laying flat against my shoulder blade and the other holding the back of my neck. Tucking my nose against his chest, I could smell his minty scent mixed with something sweet and unusual coming from the cookies he had spent all afternoon baking… for me.

“Thank you”, I muffled.

“I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I was, as you usually call me, a _smug prat_. I… I like it here and I… Your company isn’t unbearable”, Loki said.

I could feel his breath against my ear and it made me shiver.

“I’m sorry too, Mischief”.

My voice was stifled by the fabric of his shirt, but I knew he had heard me when his hold tightened around my body. I felt warm and far too comfortable in his arms. If I had closed my eyes, I would probably have fallen asleep, lulled by the sound of his steady heartbeat. His fingers started to draw nonsensical things on my back, his touch burning my skin even through my clothes. His other hand got lost in my hairs, his pinky wrapping around a lock near my temple. And suddenly, I was everything but sleepy. A wave of pure lava rippled up and down my body and I abruptly felt the utmost urgency to take a step back, so, I did. Loki’s arms fell limp at his sides and he stared at me with his usual grin.

I felt really cold now, but it was safer. _That’s more like it…_

“Are you trying to tell me that you actually enjoy my company?” I asked, feeling my cheek redden under his intense eyes.

“Maybe…”

I guess it was the best answer I could ever hope for.

“Roommate?” I offered, lifting my hand between us as a peace offering.

I was expecting Loki to just shake it, but instead, he took it and brought my fingers to his mouth. His lips grazed my knuckles and it send quakes of electricity all through my arm.

“Roommates”, he soughed against my skin, the tip of his tongue brushing my ring finder in the process.

_Was it an Asgardian custom to kiss girls fingers?_

I tried to suppress the annoying awareness that, when Kennan did that, it didn’t make my heart stutter or my vein boil. After all, my reaction was probably just due to the relief of having made peace with Loki. It had nothing to do with the God of Mischief himself. Or the warmth of his lips on my skin. Or the burning sparkle in this green eyes. Or his…

_Nope. No way. Not going down that treacherous path…_

Taking my hand back with a violent flush (judging from Loki wolfish grin, he was very proud of himself), I cleared my throat and offered: “So, _Star Wars_ and cookies?”

Why was my voice this shaky? _Get yourself together, Stark!_

Loki, still smiling like the mischievous prat he was, just nodded.

“How did you know they were my favorites?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I live with you, I was doomed to notice some of your likes and dislikes eventually”, he said with a wink before taking the now cooling cookies to the living room.

Alone in the kitchen for a second, I let out a shuddering sigh.

_Asgardians…_ I thought, rolling my eyes before filling two glass of milk and joining Loki on the couch.

And life was great again.

 

                When Thor came to see us later that evening, we were discussing _Star Wars_.

“I can’t believe you prefer the new trilogy to the old one!” I was saying, offended, just as Thor walked in.

I waved at him and faced his brother again with a deep frown.

“I really like this Anakin character”, answered Loki with a shrug, not even acknowledging Thor.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Of course you would relate to the biggest prat of the entire franchise. It’s just like with _Harry Potter_ … Personally, I hate Anakin, he’s a smug whinny little shit. But I love Darth Vador. He’s so badass!”

“I’ve not understood a word you’ve just said”, interrupted Thor, sitting on the armchair next to our couch. We both turned towards him with a matching shocked look.

“You’ve been on Earth on several occasions and you’ve never seen _Star Wars_?” Asked Loki.

He seemed so astonished, I couldn’t help but snort. I had turned him into a geek monster. I was kind of proud.

“Dude, your pop culture sucks. I’ll have to educate you once I’ll be done with this one”, I promised, pointing at Loki, who threw me a glare I decided to ignore.

Thor watched us for a moment, as if he suspected that something wasn’t right, but said nothing on the matter. Instead, he announced: “I’ve got some news about your living arrangement.”

I paused the movie, giving him all my attention and felt something heavy weight on my chest. Loki and I had just made up after our first real roommates’ fight. I didn’t want him to leave now…

I… I really loved sharing my flat with him, despite the hitches. It gave my daily life new excitement and I was eager to go home every evening. Would Loki be glad to leave? Would I ever see him again after today? He was currently looking at Thor, his face revealing nothing.

_God…_ I felt like crying again.

Dreading Thor next sentence, I listened anyway, angry claws clutching at my insides painfully.

“Val and Heimdall are now an item and they have decided they wanted to share the same quarter. I’ve asked them not to tell Tony so there is one room available for you, Loki. It’s on the other side of the compound. We can move you out tonight, we only need Zach to deactivate the cameras for a few minutes and…”

“No”, interrupted Loki.

I turned to him with wide eyes, my heart fluttering with hope. Thor was also looking at him, slightly shocked.

“What?” Asked the God of Thunder.

“I do not wish to leave anymore. As long as our people will be living in this facility, I’ll stay here. With Zach”, answered Loki.

He glanced at me, as if to check if I was okay with it. When he saw the big smile that nearly broke my face in two, a glimpse of relief sparkled in his green eyes.

We stared at each other for I don’t know how long, Loki looking smug as usual but also strangely…content. Biting my lips under his intense and overwhelming gaze, I felt my cheek redden. That made him give me his signature wolfish smile. Thor had to clear his throat to grab our attention back. We both turned towards him at the same time and he gave us a frown.

“What’s going on here?” He asked, suspicious.

“Nothing”, I shrugged innocently.

“A few weeks ago you two couldn’t wait to get away from each other and now you’re what… best friends?”

Thor had a point. Even a few hours ago, if he had asked me, I would have begged him to remove Loki from my life, like ASAP. But now… Now everything had changed. Our fight had made things clearer. I wanted to live with him. And I only realized now that things had started to change a long time ago, ever since we had bonded over _Star Trek_ , in fact. Yes, Loki was a prat, he could be a tyrant and he had a far too great opinion of himself. But I liked him and his shenanigans. And I wouldn’t change him for the world… 

Loki must have figured out the same about me, because he simply lift and eyebrow at Thor and said: “Maybe. But the fact remains, I’m not going anywhere, brother.”

And on this and despite Thor still growing suspicion, the matter was closed.

We spent the rest of the evening watching movies and laughing about everything and nothing while eating leftovers. As I was witnessing a funny brotherly squabble over who deserved to eat the last cookie, I could only smile. The Asgardians had turned my existence upside down, but it was only for the better. I couldn’t imagine my life without them anymore…


	11. A Strange Proposal

**Chapter Ten: A Strange Proposal**

November passed really quickly and before I even realized it, December was around the corner. I loved winter and everything that came with it. My Dad used to call me _Christmasnutty_ and that year wouldn’t be an exception. At least this time, I would not be all alone decorating the tree. This year, I had a new roommate who knew nothing about Christmas and I was planning on teaching him everything about the Holiday Season.

                We began watching a shitload of Christmas movies until Loki started to get sick with too much saccharose and nauseating good feelings. I then taught him how to bake Christmas cookies and on a very memorable Sunday afternoon, we spent our time bickering and laughing while decorating our huge pine tree. Loki judged it was too loaded with red and I retorted that green tinsels on an already green spruce was far too much green. We ended up with a compromise where I decorated the right side of the tree and Loki took care of the left. It gave a slightly messy result but it suited our eccentric duet. When it was time to put the star on top of it, Loki refused to let me use the stool and insisted on carrying me. My Dad used to do it when I was younger but now that I was an adult, I said to my Asgardian roommate it would look kind of ridiculous.

“It is how it’s done traditionally!” He argued. “I saw it in too many of those awful movies you have forced me to watch.”

I just rolled my eyes and avoided to mention the fact I had seen him sniffle in front of _Miracle on the 34th Street_ and that I knew he had genuinely enjoyed _The Gremlins_. I complied and Loki took me by the waist to hoist me up. I put the golden star on top the tree and I tapped his hand to let him now I was done. I expected him to simply put me down but Loki tossed me higher instead and retrieved me in his arms, bridal style. I squeaked a little and then glared at him. He was smiling smugly, proud of his little shenanigan.

“You really think this is funny?” I asked him.

“Maybe”, he shrugged, still holding me.

I rolled my eyes again. One of those days, they would probably get stuck in their socket seeing how it had become a nasty habit since I had started living with him.

“Are you going to put me down, Mischief?” I inquired with a lifted eyebrow.

I was starting to get really hot with his strong arms around me and my heart skipped a beat when his grin turned mischievous. Our faces were so close I could have counted each one of his long eyelashes.

“I don’t know”, he answered. “I’m quite comfortable like this.”

He genuinely loved annoying me. But I really needed to put some safe distance between us. He must have sensed my nervousness or noticed my blushing cheeks because his smile only widen.

“Loki, put me down!” I commanded.

Finally ( _thank God_!), he agreed to let me go. When my feet touched the ground, I immediately took a step back.

“Let’s make some cookies”, I decided to change the subject while walking to the kitchen. “Thor is coming for dinner and I want him to taste my cinnamon and ginger ones.”

I heard Loki snigger behind me but I didn’t turn around, knowing my face was still flushed. I really needed to move things forwards with Kennan. Loki’ strong presence was becoming harder and harder to withhold and my starving libido was now acting up at any uninvited moments. I didn’t want to think about the fact that my sex drive was always the most distraught around Loki… more than when I was with my _official_ and _very lovely_ boyfriend.

In other words, I needed to get laid. And soon.

It was really starting to drive me nuts if my sex drive had chosen to focus on Loki. We were friends and roommates and I really didn’t want him in that way. I slapped my very annoying brain, which found useful to whisper that _Loki_ and _sex_ in the same sentence sounded very appealing indeed…

I was with Kennan. I liked him very much. More than Loki…

_Right…_

I decided to focus on baking cookies with my _notatallsexy_ and _notatallmytype_ roommate. It was safer.

On Monday, I was having lunch with my Dad, when he told me about the only thing I didn’t like and actually dreaded around Christmas: The Annual Stark Ball.

Dad had always loathed organizing parties ( _thankfully, Pepper was a goddess_ ) but he certainly knew how to throw one. Each time, it was grand and festive and filled with far too many people for my taste. Last year, I had made such a fool of myself (tripping over Colonel Thunderbolt and drenching him in champagne) that I had spent the entire evening in a corner avoiding to be seen. On previous balls, when I had been surrounded by Steve and friends, I had genuinely enjoyed it. But now it was just dull and excruciating. I had only been attending last year to please my Dad and Pepper and I just hoped that this time, with Thor living in the compound, it would be better…

                I was completing a report on my laptop that evening when a steaming cup of tea appeared in front of my eyes. I had to nearly crack my neck to properly look at Loki. Standing next to my chair, he was waiting for me to take the hot beverage from his hand with a beaming smile. I lifted a surprised eyebrow.

“Why did I do to deserve such an honor?” I asked.

He lost his easy smile. “Can’t I be thoughtful just for the sake of it from time to time?”

I loved bugging him as much as he loved annoying me. He could be such an easy target sometimes.

I finally took the cup from his hand and gave him a grin of connivance. “Thank you.”

He nodded, pleased and leaned over me to see what I was working on.

“But really, are you alright? Your lips are all thin and stiff like when you’re feeling anxious… or angry with me”, Loki said after a few seconds.

Sometimes, it still surprised me how well he had come to know me.

“That explains the tea”.

I winked at him and took a sip. It was delicious, just warm and sweet enough. Perfect.

“My mother always said that everything could be soothed with a good cup of tea”, stated Loki like if it was one of the fundamental law of the universe.

“Your mother was wise.”

This statement earned me one of his brightest smile. He sat next to me and put his forearms on the table, ready to listen intently. My heart fluttered a little at his open face. Why and how he had become my confident totally eluded me… But he made me feel safe.

So, I turned fully towards him and started: “My Dad told me we were going to host a big Christmas Party. We do it every year but this time, to make your people feel welcome, he decided to make it more formal, with waltzes, fancy dresses and extravagant stuffs. It’s going to be a bloody Masquerade Ball for Christsake! I already hated those kind of parties before, but now with all these complicated dances and everything, it’ll be a disaster.”

Loki raised a surprised eyebrow. “I thought you loved dancing. I have to endure it quite often as it is…”

“Prat! Yes, I love dancing, on _modern_ music, when I just have to jump up and down and wriggle my hips. But I’m talking about elaborated dances here. You’ve seen me slip and fall more time than I can count. How do you think I’ll look like dancing a bloody waltz?”

Here I was, panicking, my mouth forming words before my brain could stop the flow of garbage. Standing up, I went on, my hands waving wildly at my sides: “I’ll step on toes, Mischief. Maybe I’ll even break one. What if I cause a diplomatic incident with an Asgardian duke or something? I don’t want to disappoint Thor and my Dad. What if…”

And then, Loki appeared in front of me and took my shoulders to force me to face him. “Calm down, Freckles! Breathe.”

I focused on his handsome and soothing face and did just that.

_In and out. In and out._

His hands shifted to my upper arms, but he didn’t step back.

“Even if you break an Asgardian toe, which would be hard, given that we are stronger than humans, my brother would never let it become a diplomatic incident. And if you really are afraid of dancing, then don’t. You could just talk to people. You are quite good at talking”, Loki offered, trying to reassure me.

It had been was working, until he had uttered those last two ludicrous sentences.

_Me? Good at talking to people?_   Had Loki forgotten that he had just stopped my verbal diarrhea only a few seconds before? 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m shit at small talk”, I snorted. “I always seem to say the wrong thing…”

“You don’t seem to mind talking nonsense to me all day long”, pointed out Loki with a raised eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s because I don’t care about what you think of me. You already know I’m ridiculous.”

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to be insulted or not”.

I smiled impishly. “Take it as you wish, Mischief.”

Loki dropped my arms and shook his head in desperation. “You really are ridiculous.”

“And you’re a smug prat”, I instinctively retorted.

“Maybe, but you love me anyway”.

Loki accompanied his statement with his signature wicked smile and my mouth went suddenly dry. He had taken me by surprise and rendered me speechless. It was a first. Not knowing what to reply to _that_ totally preposterous assumption, I just snorted in a very unladylike manner.

Because I didn’t love him. It was grotesque and wrong and…  a far _too_ dangerous thought.

Loki laughed at me for a moment but then he suddenly stopped. I didn’t know what he saw in my eyes, but he gulped and became dead serious. His green orbs pierced mine in a way that made me shudder in a far too pleasant way. Something shifted in the air and it became hard to breath properly.

And… _why was it so hot in here all of the sudden?_

This bloody heating system must be broken again. There was no other explanation for the swift and powerful wave of burning lava that came licking my insides. We had to stop staring at each other like that.

It was just…. _Ridiculous!_

Finally ( _thank God!_ ), Loki lowered his too intense eyes and cleared his throat. “If not knowing how to waltz upset you to this degree, I could teach you”, he offered.

“You know how to waltz?” I asked, genuinely intrigued.

I already knew that he could definitely move, he was giving me a pretty entertaining performance on every housework day, but I had no idea he knew formal dances.

_Who knew waltzes existed on Asgard as well?_

“Yes, my mother taught me”, Loki answered with a shrug.

It was the second time he had talked about his mother in a single conversation.

“Were you close?” I dared, expecting him to bite my head off.

But he looked in my eyes again and gave me a small smile. “Yes, we were. She’s the only one who came to visit me when I was imprisoned on Asgard after attacking Earth. She also taught me everything I know about magic.”

That was sweet. Loki had already told me things about his tumultuous past, but he rarely talked about his mother. He must really miss her. There were evident traces of sadness on his face and I wanted to make him smile again.

“The only thing my mother ever taught me was to take care of myself. She was never around. I was an accident, you see. My parents didn’t use protection when they…made me” I confessed.

_WTF? Why was I talking about that?_ I must have been more upset by our strange lingering gaze from earlier than I thought.

“Protection?” Asked Loki.

“Condoms”.

“What is that?”

“Something we use on Earth when we have… intercourse, to prevent sexual diseases and having unwanted kids. Didn’t you use protection on Asgard?”

_Please, kill me!_ Why couldn’t I just shut my damned mouth? I was probably blushing like an idiot.

But our conversation didn’t seem to faze Loki in the slightest. He simply smiled wickedly and said: “Yes, we do. But my magic usually do the trick. I’m a _really_ crafty trickster.”

How we had come from talking about dance to a conversation about safe sex was beyond me. I felt wildly uncomfortable, while Loki looked far too casual and seemed to really have fun at my expense. But, like always, my mouth uttered things without my brain’s approval.

“On Earth, women usually take a pill to prevent any unfortunate accidents and men use condoms.”

“Do you?” His smile was far too distracting. I felt a little dazed.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. I do”.

_Now! I needed to stop talking right fucking now!_

But life hated me, so I kept on babbling. “It’s kind of useless seeing how little action I have had in the heart department…”

Loki grin widen until I could see the full spectrum of his perfect white teeth. I blushed so hard I was probably glowing or something. I wanted to go hide in my room. But I would not give him that satisfaction. Standing my ground, I brain finally kicked start again.

“Anyway! If you really want to, I would gladly accept your dance lessons.”

Letting out a little sigh of relief, I prayed that Loki would be kind enough to drop the awkward _sex_ subject.

Still smiling like the smug prat that he was, he shook his head at my ridiculousness and simply asked: “When is this infamous party supposed to take place?”

“In two weeks.”

“We don’t have much time, then. We should start right now so I can see how much work you’ll burden upon me.” He claps his hands together, suddenly all business.

Pouting in outrage, I grumbled: “I’m not _that_ bad of a dancer.”

Loki raised an unimpressed eyebrow and throw a mocking glance at me. “I’ve seen you dance. You’re bad.”

_Asshole…_

He really was lucky that he was drop dead gorgeous, because he really lacked finesse in the personality department. 

“Prat… For your information, I took ballet lessons when I was a child and I wasn’t a total disaster”

“I will be the judge of that.”

I had a bad feeling about this… I knew I would come to regret it. But I only rolled my eyes and took a resolute step toward him. It was just dances lesson.

_What could possibly go wrong?_


	12. Lessons and Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back with a new chapter.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!
> 
> Happy reading! ^^

**Chapter Eleven: Lessons and Complications**

                My dance lessons with Loki indeed started the very same day. At the beginning, we argued about the playlist until I just let him choose modern tunes that suited him and in which the rhythm could be used to learn waltz steps. He told me he had a particular routine in mind, which he knew by heart.

“It’s a traditional Asgardian dance”, he explained me. “It’s quite simple actually. The only difficult steps are the numerous swirls… and the lifts”.

“The what”?

I was already dreading the whole thing. I wasn’t really stable on my usual feet, so if he expected me not fall on my ass doing bloody “lifts”, then he was delusional. We were standing face to face, Loki wearing black sweatpants and a simple shirt. As for myself, I had decided to follow what I had seen in _Dirty Dancing_ and stood in front of him in black thighs and a tank top.

“The routine includes several lifts, but don’t fret. I’ll be the one doing all the work in most of them”.

I knew he probably was trying to reassure me, but after the Christmas tree star debacle, I didn’t think spending my days in Loki’s arms was such a great idea. I should have just quitted at this very moment… But he looked so adamant on helping me that I didn’t want to disappoint him.  

“Okay”, I just said.

Loki nodded and walked into my personal space. I took an instinctive step back.

“If you want me to teach you, you will have to at least let me get close to you”, he grumbled with a frown.

He was right, I was just being ridiculous, as always. Giving him a little smile of apology, I didn’t move when he came to stand just before me. We were so close I could feel the heat coming from his body. I gulped and stared into his eyes, determined not to let any of my emotions show.

“First, I’ll teach you the basic posture and steps. Then, we will try with the music”, Loki started, unusually serious.

I nodded, all business. He put one of his hands on my waist and with the other, he took my fingers and held them in mid-air.

“Put your arm around my neck”, he asked.

I did what I was told and couldn’t help but shiver when my palm touched his naked skin.

“This is a three step dance. Look at our feet and follow my lead”, explained Loki.

He showed me the steps, once, twice, before asking me to mimic them. At the beginning, I did great but when it was time to move together, I stepped on his foot at the first occasion.

“Sorry”, I mumbled, but Loki only shrugged.

“I barely felt it. I told you Asgardians were much more robust than humans”, he reminded me.

But after nearly an hour of being stomped upon, mighty Asgardian or not, Loki started to lose patience.

“How can you be so clumsy? I’m sure you are doing it on purpose”, he said.

We had decided to take a much deserved break and he was sitting on the armchair, rubbing his abused toes. Sprawled on the couch, I straightened up and lifted an eyebrow.

“Not so robust after all, Mischief?”

Loki threw me a nasty glare. Snorting, I went to get us two glasses of milk. When I handed it to him, I said: “It’s good for your bones”.

It was Loki’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Let’s try again”, he decided after he had finished his drink.

When I went to bed that night, I hadn’t made any progress and I was sure Loki would never find the normal use of his feet again. Seeing how truly awful I actually was, he had turned our dance lessons into his personal challenge. I would be able to waltz on the night of the ball, even if he had to lose a toe trying ( _that was a direct quote, by the way_ ).

                The next week was punctuate with my work, lunches with Kennan, my Dad and Thor and dance lessons with Loki. We had added music to the mix now and apart from one memorable moment where I literally fell on my bum, I was really getting better. Loki was a tyrannical teacher, but he was effective and we soon realized that I was much more comfortable and adept while listening to music. We had chosen our favorite one, agreeing on something for a change, and only danced on it from now on.

                Saturday night, I had another date with Kennan and when I told Loki I wouldn’t be able to train that day, he nearly threw a fit. So, it was angry and frustrated that I met my boyfriend in the gardens. Late. _Very_ late.

“I’m sorry”, I said, giving him a quick kiss.

I was two seconds away from complaining about Loki being a pain in the ass, when I stopped myself just in time, telling him I had been too caught up in a project to check the time instead. I guessed I would have to tell him about my roommate someday, seeing it was why we hadn’t been intimate yet. Kennan was quite persistent in wanting us to be alone and I could understand his frustration. But it wasn’t really my secret to tell. And to be honest, I still didn’t feel ready to sleep with him yet. It was kind of ridiculous, because I liked him a lot, but…

The main problem was that there was a “ _but_ ” I couldn’t shake. I just hoped that time would bring the instinctive wall I had built around me down.

Like always, we started to walk around the snow-covered garden, talking about our day.

“I heard about the ball Mister Stark will be hosting next week and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of accompanying me”, asked Kennan.

I forgot about Loki prattiness immediately and turned to face him.

“I would love to”, I answered with a wide smile.

Thank God there was still decent guys in this world ( _or universe, more accurately_ ).

Kennan then took me by the waist and brought me to him. Holding me close, he kissed me. What started as a simple and chaste exchange grew deeper until he backed me up against the closest tree. Things became much more heated after that, his arms tightening around my body. The fact that I was wearing a thick coat and a sweater didn’t prevent him from sneaking his way under my clothes. His hungry fingers found one of my breasts and started to fondle it without much finesse. I had nothing against fooling around, to the contrary, but I wasn’t particularly fond of such public display of affection. Anyone could walk in on us at any moments and even if it held a certain exciting charm, I didn’t feel like it right now. And his quite starved caresses were kind of a turn off, to be honest.

“Kennan”, I tried to call between two voracious kisses.

But he silenced me with his biting mouth and began to roll his hips against mine. I could feel his hard length along my lower belly. My heart started to beat faster, but not because of a sudden surge of arousal. I was starting to panic.

“Kennan, stop”, I begged.

I tried to push him back, but he was far too strong for me and in his heated state, he probably didn’t even noticed my shoving.

“Come on, spread those beautiful legs for me”, he soughed against my lips.

The hand that wasn’t harassing my chest weaved its way under my skirt and between my thighs. He cupped me with his burning palm and started to massage my slit. Frozen in dread, prickles of cold and primal fear washed all over me and I screamed: “STOP!”

Finally, Kennan understood that my body wasn’t seized in rapture but frozen in horror. His darkened eyes slowly turned hazel again and he stepped back.

“I’m sorry, Zach. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just that… I want you. A lot”, he apologized.

He was visibly very remorseful, but I couldn’t shake the instinctive terror that had come over me. I wanted to go home and wash. I felt cheap and dirty. He must have sensed my distress because he asked me if he could walk me home. I found whatever excuse to refuse and nearly ran out of the garden.

It wasn’t until I closed my door behind me that I felt somewhat safe again. I tried to reason with myself, repeating it was only a mistake and that Kennan hadn’t meant to assault me. He was only frustrated his girlfriend was a _bloody_ prude and it was natural that he wanted things to go further. But something was holding me back. And I didn’t know why I couldn’t let myself really relax with him. I admitted I had always had trouble with intimacy but it had never reached this level before. Any girl would have been blessed to fool around with her handsome boyfriend. And I knew my sex drive was not busted, with Loki it seemed to be roaring, so why not with Kennan? I couldn’t…

A soft hand on my shoulder woke me from my stupor and I lifted my head to face Loki, startled. I had stopped in the doorway, coat still on and was shivering like bloody leaf.

“Freckles, you’re awfully pale…” noticed Loki. He put his other hand on my cheek and his eyes widen. ”And you’re cold as ice!”

I only realized now I was freezing. My teeth were chattering. I must look like hell. As if I was a child, he took my coat off and put it on the rack. Then, Loki gently held my hand. It was so cold his hot skin prickled against mine. He ushered me to the couch and made me sit. Putting a thick blanket around my shoulders, he settled next to me.

“What happened?” He asked, concern obvious on his face.

I just shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it. I was just being ridiculous, stress and weariness getting the best of me. If I told him that I was in shock just because my lovely boyfriend had been a little too carried away in our make out session, he would just laugh at my face.

 _What was happening to me?_ I didn’t understand why I was reacting so strongly. Kennan hadn’t meant to be forceful, he had just wanted to have sex and had stopped when I had asked him.

 _Yes, but not right away_ , whispered my cruel brain.

I was such a mess. No wonder I couldn’t keep a boyfriend if I froze and panicked every time we fooled around…

Loki brought a hand to my face and I only realized I had shed a tear when he caught it with his thumb.

“Freckles, if you don’t tell me what’s going on right now, I will go ballistic”, he warned.

I stared at him, his mouth thin with repressed anger, his brow frowned with concern and his green eyes shining like two warm jewels. A small smile appeared on my face and slowly, heat started to spread in my whole body.

“No need, Mischief. I’m better now”, I said before burrowing myself in the couch and plastering my side against his. Finally, I put my head on his shoulder and, perfectly safe and comfy, I focused on the TV.

He was watching _Home Alone_. It was my favorite scene, when Kevin was putting traps in the house. I felt Loki freeze, but only for a second. Then, he put his arm around me and held me close, his own head resting on top of mine. We watched the end of the movie before we decided to order in. We resumed our cuddling position while we watched the sequel and I fell asleep against Loki, feeling warm and serene.

                Only two days before the Christmas Ball, I was roughly ready. Loki judged my moves still lacked finesse but that it would be enough for one evening. I was both happy and sad our lessons were over. Happy because at least, he would have one less reason to be frustrated with me. And sad because even if I tried to hide it, I had loved sharing this experience with him. It had drove us even closer and we were now more comfortable around each other than ever. After two weeks of touching and dancing for hours, we inadvertently became much more conniving.

We could sometimes understand each other with just a glance and were bolder in our physical closeness. We were nearly joined to the hip and instinctively touched one another without even thinking about it. A hand on one arm, a tap on one shoulder… It had all become quite a habit for us. It was Thor who made us notice those little changes one day at lunch. Sharing a surprised look, Loki and I had just shrugged and changed the subject.

None of us really wanted to think about what all of this meant too closely. We were just becoming really good friends, that’s all.

Things quieted down and got better with Kennan as well. The day after what had happened in the gardens, he found me in the cafeteria, holding a dozen of beautiful roses (I suspected him to have stolen them in one of our bushes, but said nothing). He apologized about his behavior in so many ways I had to put a hand on his mouth to stop him from rambling. We managed to talk things through and I asked him to be patient with me. We would become more physical, but when the time would be right and more importantly, when we would find a suitable place to fool around without fear of being caught in the act. Kennan was only too happy to comply with my conditions and once again, all was right in our relationship. I still felt a little uneasy in his presence or when he wrapped his arms around me a little too tightly, but I fought my inner ridiculousness.

All was well now. I had no reason to feel uncomfortable around him anymore…

                The party was happening on Saturday and Friday night, I had dinner with my dad, Pepper and Uncle Jim. I had left Loki in his room where he had spent most of the day reading and brooding. We had just had a fight at lunch when he had decided that he wanted to go to the ball. I had nearly spit out my mouthful of chicken and unsuccessfully had tried to make him understand that it wasn’t even a possibility. I was hoping that Thor, who was supposed to join him for dinner that night, would have better luck convincing him. But I was already dreading the worst, imagining Loki entering the party and being shot dead by a very angry Iron Man in full swing.

Despite my worry, I managed to forget about Loki for a while as soon as I walked in my Dad’s personal apartments. Uncle Jim and Pepper were already here and I stepped into a very heated conversation.

“No, Tony, you cannot wear your armored suit at our wedding. The priest will never let you enter the church dressed like that”, was arguing Pepper with a deep sigh.

 _Oh boy…_ They were talking about the wedding again. I reckoned it would be a _very long_ meal…

Lately, this particular subject was a mine field. The ceremony was due for July next year and Dad and Pepper didn’t seem to agree on anything. She wanted something private and small, Tony wanted things to be grand and over-the-top ( _like his ego, some would say…)._ They didn’t even reached agreement on the guest list. Being Pepper’s maid of honor, I had been buried neck deep in the project and had been very excited at the beginning. But now, all I wanted to do when they uttered the word “ _wedding_ ”, was to run for the hills.

I saw Uncle Jim put his head in his hands in despair and knew I had to step in. _Right now!_

“Good evening, everyone”, I said, stopping my Dad midsentence.

They all turned to me and I saw my uncle face brighten. It was clear as day on his hopeful expression that he needed my incredible “ _change the subject_ ” gift. I guess sometimes, for the greater good, it was essential to take one for the team…

“Guess who is going to be my date at the ball?” I told with an exaggerated smile.

My Dad’s face darkened and I knew I had won.

“Baby, you know I don’t like this Kennon…”

“Kennan”, I corrected.

“Whatever. He has a dumb face”, finished Tony with a frown.

“You don’t even know him”, replied Pepper. “Don’t listen to your father, darling. I will be thrilled to at last meet your boyfriend properly”.

She stood up from the couch and came to usher me forward.

“I can’t wait either. It’s been ages since I had an official date to bring to one of those parties”, I answered, Pepper and I sharing a conniving smile.

Dad was about to say something else when Uncle Jim got ahead of him and said: “I would be happy to meet him as well, as long as you save a dance for your old crippled uncle.”

“I promise and I’ll probably not even step on you this year”, I winked.

On this more joyous note, we sat down around the table and started dinner. The conversation stayed mainly on the upcoming ball and Uncle Jim and I did everything in our power not to mention anything that could have even the slightest connection with the wedding. When Pepper mentioned her dress, I switched to the Asgardians instead.

“They all will be invited. I ordered costumes for everyone and they really seem excited about the party. Most of them are still devastated by the destruction of their world, so I hope it will at least change their mind a little”, explained Pepper.

“I’m sure it will be great”, I replied, putting a warm hand on her arm.

Pepper had been deeply involved in the Asgardians everyday life since their arrival. She was still the official CEO of Stark Industries but she lived here with my Dad so, when she had learnt about their misfortunes, she had tried to make their stay as peaceful as possible. That women was a wonder. She knew how to multitask and stay focused even better than a professional juggler.

“I even asked Thor to give me some insight about Asgardian music so they would feel more at home”, Pepper added.

I saw my Dad discreetly take her hand to squeeze it. The love that shone in his eyes as he was looking at her right now was kind of blinding. Something kindled inside my chest and I suddenly felt bittersweet. I hoped one day I would know such a love…

But I got back to earth when Uncle Jim asked my Dad about the composition of the bar. I think he was still traumatized by the too many times he had to stop the infamous Tony Stark from performing an act of public indecency because of alcohol. My father was older and wiser now, being Iron Man for 10 years had had some advantages after all, but the dread remained. I laughed heartedly for the rest of the evening, where we exchanged old memories about my father’s most notable moments. When I got home that night, I was still smiling like a loon and even Loki’s morose face when I walked in didn’t shake my good mood.

“So, still brooding?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

My roommate simply huffed and went back to his book. I rolled my eyes and wished him goodnight without receiving an answer before going to bed.

If he wanted to be a prat, so be it!

For once in my life, I was really excited about the Christmas Party and I would not let Loki waste it. He could be such a child for a nearly 1500 years old being…


	13. The Bathroom Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is a new chapter! Hope you'll like it!
> 
> Happy reading ! ^^

**Chapter Twelve: The Bathroom Madness**

                I woke up quite early for a Saturday morning and when I left my room, Loki wasn’t up yet. I took breakfast by myself and it appeared incredibly sad. I had gotten so used to share my early routine with Loki that the sudden silence and loneliness upset me more than it should have. I shook my head and realized I was being ridiculous. Loki was just there in the other room. Despite that, the quietness unsettled me, so I decided to put some music on. I admit the volume was a little loud and that it may or may not have been a subtle way to wake Loki... Nonetheless, a few minutes later, my roommate stepped into the kitchen. For once in his life, he looked kind of ruffled and rumpled. He had dark circles under his glossy eyes and his hairs were a crow nest. If it hadn’t had been cute as hell, it may have worried me sooner, but my first reaction was to snort, my eyes wide with surprise.

“Good morning sunshine”, I said, earning a glare in return.

But then, when he sat down with a sore face, I saw the red marks along his forearms and neck. All laughter suddenly left me in a whoosh of cold dread.

“What the hell, Loki?” I shouted, standing up to come around the counter and step into his personal space.

“It’s nothing”, he answered, but I wasn’t buying it.

With an annoyed wave of his hand, he tried to push me away but I stood my ground. We shared a silent staring match and I knew I had won when he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms on his chest, shoulders slumped in defeat. He let me manhandle him after that. Very delicately, I tilted his head to the side to observe the angry red marks on his neck. It was like someone had tried to strangle him with ropes, or some kind of lash. When I grazed one of the gash with the pad of my finger, Loki’s jaw tightened and he filched in pain. I stopped immediately. I inspected the same kind of injuries on his arms before my eyes went back to his face. Still as slowly and as delicately as I could, I took his jaw between my hands and forced him to stare at me. Loki looked awfully tired, as if he hadn’t slept in days and his usually pale skin was grey and clammy.

What was happening to him? Had I been that self-centered about my business with Kennan and my stress over the upcoming ball that I hadn’t noticed that something was wrong with Loki? I really was a crappy friend!

Finally, his green eyes lifted and hooked mine. He was obviously trying to hide something from me and I didn’t like that. Loki was maybe known as the God of Lies, but he had always been bluntly honest with me.

“What happened?” I asked with a soft voice.

Loki didn’t answer right away, his eyes scanning my face as if to check I was trustworthy enough. I said nothing, not pushing him or stepping back. I just stayed rooted to the stop. Only my hands moved. I tucked his disheveled hairs behind his ears and my thumb accidently grazed his cheekbone. His eyes widen slightly at that and I would have missed it if I hadn’t been watching him so closely. My breath got caught in my throat for a moment and my heart missed a beat. There was something different about us today, a growing tension, dark, hot and intoxicating.

A red warning screamed “ _Danger! Danger!”_ inside my head and I let out a shuddering sigh. But Loki put an end to whatever this _little moment_ was when he said: “I had a nightmare. Someone was trying to strangle me and when I woke up, my hands were around my own throat and I had scratched myself raw.”

It was logical. Only Asgardian’ strength could bruise a strong skin like his. I stayed silent, listening intently. Loki didn’t say who had tried to hurt him in his dream and I didn’t ask. The fact he had admitted it to me was enough. I smiled reassuringly and took his hand.

“Come”, I simply said.

And he followed.

We went to the bathroom and I left him standing near the sink while I rummaged through the medicine cabinet to find the calming balm. I could feel his intense eyes following my every move and it should have unsettled me, but it didn’t. I was strangely calm and something warm was dancing in my stomach. Loki was trusting me blindly and I liked it. It proved how much our relationship had evolved. It made me feel safe and happy.

I went back to him and stood close. He watched me open the cap and let me spread the medicine on the red marks on his throat and arms without even flinching.

“I know your skin will probably heal faster than any human, but it will ease the process”, I explained while making sure I hadn’t forgotten any injury.

When I was done, I lifted my eyes to his and got lost in what I found in them. He had a little frown, as if he couldn’t yet believe someone could show him kindness just for the sake of it. The smile that was about to appear on my face froze when I detected something else in his too green orbs.

Affection. True, naked and raw affection.

It took my breath away. The outside world seemed to disappear around us. We were standing so close I could feel his warm breath on my face and the heat of his body infused into mine. Red blossomed on my cheeks as hot tingles spread all through my veins. My skin felt hypersensitive and my heart skipped a beat to race faster. All I could see was Loki’s face. His burning eyes, his high cheekbones, his smooth skin and his slightly parted lips. For once, he wasn’t smiling like a mischievous prat. He seemed as transfixed as I was and this fact only made me realize something was happening. Something important and significant and… very dangerous.

Loki took a step forward and our bodies were suddenly plastered together. It didn’t even occur to me to pull back. He was so tall I had to nearly crack my neck not to lose his eyes. We stayed like this for a moment, until Loki lowered his face. Our nose bumped, our lips now only inches apart. A red alarm blared in my head once again, but this time, something far more powerful spread out to smother it down. I was hot and trembling and my chest was heaving madly. I couldn’t think anymore, I only _wanted_. I wanted to cross the unbearable space between us but managed to stay put, staring into his eyes, and waiting. Finally, Loki reached out and cupped my blushing face in his hands.

“Loki”, I breathed out with a little winning voice I didn’t recognized.

_I wanted… I needed…_ I didn’t know what, but it was vital and powerful. Like fire and air.

But the fact I had said his name seemed to have brought him back to Earth. His darkening eyes cleared and he used his hands to slightly turn my face to the right. A second latter, his lips grazed my cheek in the ghost of a kiss. Then, he straightened up and said, as if nothing had happened: “Thank you, Freckles.”

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of freezing water on me.

_What the fuck had just happened?_

I shook my head, hoping it would help reconnect all my synapses back together because it was just bloody ridiculous. I had nearly kissed Loki.

_I had nearly kissed my very platonic friend…_

What was wrong with me? He was fucking gorgeous, yes, but he was… Loki and I couldn’t… I didn’t and would never want him like that! It was forbidden! And I was with Kennan for Christsake! I wasn’t a cheater!

Nudging away the thousands of thoughts that attacked my brain with shouts I didn’t and would never want to hear, I blamed this sudden moment of pure madness on the shock I had just felt discovering Loki’ self-inflicted injuries. I must have mistaken my worry and affection for my friend _(F.R.I.E.N.D!!!_ ) with something else that wasn’t real ( _and would never be_!).

_Right! That was the only plausible explanation!_

Thankfully back to my old and rational self, I only smiled at Loki and said: “You’re welcome, Mischief.”

I couldn’t find any trace of something out of the ordinary on his face, so I decided to drop the subject and swiftly change to another, far safer one.

“Hungry?” I asked with far too much joy.

Loki smiled his usual grin and I let out a breath of relief. Everything was back to normal.

“Famished”, he answered.

_That was NOT sexy!_

And on this, we went back to the kitchen and we chatted and squabbled while making pancakes like we always did.

My heart was still beating like a wild beast, but I made myself believe it was calm. I had thousands questions flying in my head, but I smothered them.

I was in denial. _I wasn’t in denial!_

I was fucked…

                Thor came to eat lunch with us and I was incredibly thankful for his presence. Even if things seemed to have gotten back to normal after what I called “ _The Bathroom Madness_ ”, I still felt a little uncomfortable around Loki. I stayed safely away from him and my jokes and laughs sounded far too casual for my taste. But the boys didn’t seem to notice it, so I guessed it wasn’t that bad. With Thor acting as a buffer between us ( _like always_ ), I slowly got back to normal and by the time we sat on the couch to drink hot cocoa after lunch, what had happened this morning was just a strange and foggy memory.

_Right… Shut up, brain!_

Any trace of Loki’s nightmare had disappeared from his neck and arms, so his brother never even noticed it. Unfortunately, my cheer was soon smothered by Loki’s new obsession: going to the ball tonight. Even if Thor and I had spent hours explaining to him, individually and now together, all the reasons why it was a bad idea, he didn’t seem to be able to drop the subject. So, when Thor left in the middle of the afternoon, Loki locked himself in his room like a brooding child and I didn’t see him for the rest of the day. I tried to knock once, but when I heard a loud thud against the door, proof he had just thrown something at me, it was enough to make me understand I was losing my time. So, without further ado, I went to the bathroom to start getting ready for the party.

Far too much time later, I stared at myself in the mirror and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I looked good. Really good, even. I wasn’t used to find myself particularly attractive, so I stayed stunned for a second. My dress was beautiful, made of pure silk and emerald green. Its low-cut lacy back wasn’t outrageous, but gave a sexy enough vibe to make me blush at my own audacity. I had made sure my scars would stay hidden, but the effect stayed the same. The soft material framed my cleavage with elegance and hugged my upper body before falling all the way down my legs in silkily waves. It was gorgeous. When I had ordered it online, I never would have guessed that it would suit me so well. The dark shade of green made my skin look smooth and pale and showed just enough of curves without revealing too much.

Perfect.

I had put some make up on, a smoky eye shadow and mascara to bring out my eyes behind the green and gold Masquerade mask I had chosen to wear. To match it, I had bought strappy and high-heeled golden shoes and emerald drop earrings. I barely looked like my geeky self anymore, since I had decided to forgo my glasses and use some contacts. My eyes seemed larger and brighter.

Taking a deep breath, I got out of the bathroom and was slightly disappointed to see that Loki was still brooding in his room. I would have wanted him to see me dressed like this. He would probably have laughed at me, but I was proud of the efforts I had put into my outfit.

“Loki?” I called, still hoping that he would show his face.

I even knocked at his door again. “I’m going.”

No response. No thud on the door…

_Fine, if he wanted to act like a prat, that was his problem…_

When I opened my front door, Kennan, beautiful in his light brown tunic and trousers, was already waiting for me. He was wearing a red velvet mask that really suited him. He stared at me, speechless, before taking my hand and kissing it.

“You’re beautiful”, he said, his hazel eyes burning with warmth, making me blush.

I forgot all about Loki after that, planning on having the best night of my life.

                When Kennan and I entered the ball room (it was actually the main recreation / training area. It was the only place large enough to accommodate so many people), I felt like I had stumbled into another time. The walls were covered in rich and multicolored drapes and everything was sparkling and beautiful. The lights had been softened by golden chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, where authentic candles burned. A huge bar and a spacious buffet covered in food had been placed on the right side of the room, the center having been turned into a dance floor. On the left, a real band was playing a soft song. Most of the people were already here, dressed in silk and fancy outfits, nearly all of them wearing masks. I spotted Thor, who was talking with Pepper and walked towards them, Kennan at my sides. The Asgardian King was jaw-dropping handsome in his blue and silver ensemble, his cobalt domino mask matching his incredible remaining eye. Pepper was dressed in a beautiful light pink gown and had chosen to wear a glittery mask.

“Hi, guys,” I said cheerfully.

They turned to me and I saw Thor’s eye widen in surprise.

“Whoa, Zach, you are…” He started, not finding his words.

“My, my, my liege, did you lose your tongue?” I joked.

Pepper and I laughed and Thor only smiled at me before turning to Kennan, who was watching our exchange with a frown.

_Oops,_ I realized. I had never told him about my friendship with the God of Thunder.

“Kennan, how are you tonight?” Thor asked, all royal and serious.

He was nearly glaring at our joined hands and his jaw visibly tightened. Was he trying to frighten him or something? 

_Hell no!_ I was NOT going to lose another boyfriend because of an Avenger. I _was so done with this shit!_

“Very fine, my King”, Kennan answered, obviously uneasy.

“Stop what you’re doing right now, mister! You may be his King, but you’re also my friend and Kennan is my boyfriend. So, be civil if you want to taste my pancakes ever again!” I threatened.

Thor looked between us before sighing, defeated. _Boys and food…_

“Fine, but if you ever hurt her…” He started, pointing an angry finger under Kennan nose.

“And that’s our queue”, I interrupted.

Giving a grinning Pepper a kiss on the cheek, I ushered Kennan as far away from the Asgardian King as possible.

We stopped at the bar to take a glass of champagne. My boyfriend was looking at me, his face full of questions and I knew it was time to spill the bean, or at least, parts of it. If our relationship was to evolve, I would have to tell him eventually … But I didn’t know if I could really trust him with my secret identity. We had only been dating for a few weeks, after all. Something, maybe paranoia ( _a family traits, some would say_ ), prevented me from telling him everything. So, I opted for a half version of the truth.

“I’ve known Thor for a long time, you see”, I said, fiddling with my earing. “I’ve been working with Tony Stark for years and we met when he was staying on Earth. I know it can seem strange to you, seeing as he’s your King and all, but we’re friends. And he’s kind of protective of me. Is that a problem for you?”

I hoped he would say no…

“Not at all”, Kennan finally said, before giving me a little kiss. “I was just surprised. Who knew I would be courting a close relation of our King?” He added with a teasing smile.

Relieved, I let out an imperceptible sigh and squeezed his hand. Seeing my dad watching us from afar with a dark face, I excused myself for a moment and walked to him.

Tony Stark knew how to throw a party and he was also the best to attract attention. He was dressed in a red and golden costume ( _very subtle, Dad_ ) and his mask was a silkily replicate of his Iron Man’s helmet, but it only hide his upper face and revealed his brown eyes.

“Hi, Dad”, I said in a hushed tone.

Checking that nobody was watching at us too closely, he dropped a little kiss on my forehead. “Hello, kiddo. You look amazing.”

“Thanks”, I blushed.

“I guess that this handsome fellow over there is the infamous Kennan”, he said nonchalantly before taking a sip of his glass of champagne.

_I knew that tone._

“Let me stop you right there. I’ve already made the same speech to Thor, but I don’t mind repeating myself all evening if that’s what it takes. Kennan is my boyfriend, I really like him and if you care about me, which I know you do, because I’m your bloody daughter, you’ll back off.”

I didn’t know if it was the dress or the mask, but I was super persuasive tonight. My Dad didn’t even protested and only wished me a good evening. I had to promise him a few dances before he let me go, but I considered it a huge win.

_I should wear a dress more often,_ I thought while joining Kennan again.

The party was great… And it would have been blissful and light if fate hadn’t decided to play with my life once again.

                One hour later, everyone had arrived and the evening was in full swing when, suddenly, as I was dancing with Kennan, I felt a shiver going up my spine. Someone was watching me. Turning my head around, my eyes swept the room to find out where this sudden certainty had come from. My stare stopped near the bar where a tall a slender figure was standing, raising a glass of champagne in my direction. My mouth went very dry. I could have recognized those green eyes anywhere.

Loki.

_What the hell was he doing here?_


End file.
